The Occupation Contemplation
by TerribleWaitress
Summary: "A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night." - Marilyn Monroe / Exploring the 'what if' and 'if you could change one thing' concept. All the couples are in there... they just have to find their way in this story.
1. 0 Prologue

**A/N - Hello there! So I had this idea milling around in my mind for a while but I didn't know how to execute it. The other weekend I was on my way to work and it just came to me and I figured everything out. I'm publishing the prologue now to get the ball rolling, so updates will be when and where I have the time. Exams are over so it's just essays now which means a lot more writing time! Hope this piques your interests somewhat. **

* * *

"Oh my God," Penny gushed, taking small quick strides toward Bernadette and grabbing her arm to stop her from walking away from her station. "Please let me seat those guys that just came into the restaurant in my section."

"Why?" Bernadette frowned, confused - usually Penny preferred to have as few people in her section as possible.

"See that one at the front there with the glasses?"

"Yeah... I see him."

"He's kinda cute." Penny whispered.

Bernadette looked leaned away slightly from the till to get a better look at the guys who had just come into the restaurant and after a moment she smiled. "The one in the turtle neck is kinda cute."

"Oh nuh-uh. I saw them first, that's my table." Penny snapped quickly before rushing off to greet them, leaving Bernadette no further room to comment. "Hey! I'm Penny, table for four?"

"Well, obviously, since there are four of us." said the tallest of the lot irritably, his expression one of disbelief.

"Okay..." Penny said slowly, looking at him curiously for a moment before shrugging it off. "Follow me." She led them to a table in the open section rather than the booths so she could keep her eye on the cute guy and then stood back to let them sit down. "Here you are! I'll leave you some time to look at the menu, can I get you started on drinks?"

"Four diet cokes and your phone number please." The short turtle-neck clad one said instantly.

Before Penny had time to scoff at his attempt to hit on her, the tall one spoke again. "Hang on! What if I want to drink something other than diet coke today?"

"Okay, three diet cokes, your number and whatever Sheldon wants."

The tall one - Sheldon, apparently - looked blankly at his friends for a moment before he looked at Penny with a blank expression. "I'll take a diet coke." He said, and his friends rolled their eyes.

"Okay so three diet cokes and a diet coke it is." Penny confirmed with a small giggle.

"And your number!" Turtle Neck Boy reminded her.

"Not for you." Penny stated blankly, before catching the cute ones eye and flashing him a grin. She thought she saw him grinning back but he quickly looked away so she turned and left to get their drinks.

* * *

Although she knew she technically shouldn't, Penny took the opportunity to speak to the cute guy on his way back from the restroom. So sue her it may come across as 'too much' - she was single, she enjoyed having the confidence to go up to guys she was interested in, and her manager wasn't on the floor to tell her off. Besides, she just wanted to _talk _to him. And perhaps get his number. Guys were always asking for her number, as the turtle-necked Howard had proved earlier, perhaps she could nudge this one in the right direction. She began walking as though she had a reason to be rushing, bumping into him accidentally-on-purpose. "Oh, sorry!"

"That's okay." He said with a shy smile, averting his eyes.

"Good thing I'm not carrying a tray of drinks, right?" Penny laughed, inwardly cursing herself for making such an awful attempt at conversation.

"Right. I've had that happen to me before... it wasn't so good. I had to get the bus home that time too."

"Once I got a tray of drinks all over me but it wasn't that bad - I got like, the biggest tip of my life." Penny grinned proudly, though she wished she had somewhat more of a filter. It wasn't a particularly impressive story to tell someone you had just met, but at least it was somewhat amusing. And the vision of her shirt soaking wet had to do _something _for the guy.

Leonard found himself chuckling. "Well, at least you made lemonade out of lemons."

"I did! There were even lemonades on that tray! With lemons in them!" Penny giggled, before biting her lip as Leonard gave a short, awkward laugh.

"That's a... great coincidence. Anyway, I should probably let you get back to work and return to my friends."

"Oh, right! Of course." Penny nodded vigorously, wishing she had tried to come across slightly less... well, less the way she had. Evidently it hadn't worked. "Sorry."

"That's okay. And I'm sorry about Howard; he's always asking for girls numbers. Hardly ever successful."

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to it. I wouldn't mind so much if it was the right person asking for my number." Penny hoped he would get her hint, deciding to then give him another nudge in the right direction. "But it wasn't him, so... yeah."

"Right, sure. Again, sorry about him." Leonard wasn't sure why she was looking at him so intently, but he simply shrugged it off. "Anyway, we're ready for our bill when you are."

Sighing, Penny nodded. "Okay, I'll be right over."

As she watched him walk away, Bernadette walked over with a wide grin. "Ooh, is someone trying to serve up some sexy?"

"Shut up."

"I'm guessing it didn't work."

"I just came out with all this lame crap. Why is it only the creeps and jerks who are interested me? The _one _cute guy who doesn't try to stare down my top when I bend forward to pick up plates doesn't even get my hint to ask for my number!" Penny scoffed. "What is up with that?"

"Relax, we'll have plenty of nerdy-looking guys to choose from come September."

"Bet they won't have hair like that." Penny pointed out. "Ugh, I can't believe I failed at picking up a guy. At the _Cheesecake Factory_."

"Maybe your research should be on why that is. Two hundred pages on the time Penny-"

"Okay, yeah, hilarious." Penny hit Bernadette's arm playfully with a menu. "I have to go give them their bill."

"You could always 'accidentally' drop the bill and bend over to pick it up right in front of him."

Rolling her eyes, Penny went over to the till to print the bill. "I'm not _that _desperate. I just thought he was cute."


	2. 1 Occupation

**A/N - Really enjoying writing this story, it's a very fun exploration! I have a _lot _of essay work to be doing so this will be my last update until after the New Year. I'll still be writing in that time but I need to somehow pass these four essays too - and they aren't as easy to write as a FanFic! On top of that I have a medical palava to deal with and work - though I use my sick time &amp; travel time to write too! Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. I'll be back with an update for... one of my fics in 2015. For now, just a little bit more of this :) **

* * *

Penny groaned as she put down the final box, essentially completing the move into her new apartment. As if the whole moving thing wasn't stressful enough, the elevator in her new place wasn't even working - and she no longer had a muscly boyfriend to help her carry all her things up for her. At least the delivery guys had brought the heavier things up for her; the low-cut t-shirt had its perks. Deciding that unpacking and building her new bed would be more enjoyable with music playing, she located it in the plethora of boxes and let it play whichever CD she had left in there previously.

Deciding to get the bed built and out of the way so that she had somewhere to sleep tonight, she got started on that first. Fortunately she was quite efficient with these things so putting it together didn't take as long as she had initially expected. It was the mattress and making the bed with her new sheets and comforter that were the real effort - though she had always hated doing her bed up, so this came as no surprise. Afterwards she got started on giving the closet and chest of drawers a clean and wipe-down so she could begin on the most important part: unpacking her multitude of clothes. Her pajamas were at the bottom of the biggest suitcase, so that seemed a logical start - though clearly had packing methods had been anything but logical. Half-way through, she heard a knock at her door. Getting up, she stepped carefully over the boxes filling her apartment to open it.

"Hello?" Penny said automatically, but her eyes widened and she burst into a grin when she saw who it was: the cute guy from the Cheesecake Factory the night before. This was most definitely an interesting development. "Hey!"

A stunned Leonard gaped at her, unsure of wether or not he was seriously looking at the same waitress from last night with whom he'd spoken. Surely that just an impossible coincidence? "Umm... hey?"

"What a cool coincidence!" Penny opened her door wider now that she knew who was there, leaning against the frame. She couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. "I just moved here today, I've been staying with my friends for like two weeks - I finally have a home! Do you live here too?"

"Yeah... right across the hall." Leonard said slowly as though the fact that the waitress from the night before now lived on the same floor as him was taking a little longer to process than any other piece of information. "So... you live here as well?"

"As of 9am this morning, yes! I am the newest resident of Apartment 4B, 2311 North Los Robles." Penny grinned. "This is so cool! Hey, I didn't get your name last night, neighbor."

"It's Leonard. You're Penny, right?"

"Right. Penny." She confirmed with a perky nod.

"I saw there were some boxes outside and the other guy moved out two days ago so I just wanted to say hello to the new neighbor and welcome them to the building." Leonard explained, realizing his appearance outside her door must seem strange without reason. "And I also wanted to see if you want to join us for Indian food... well, it wasn't you in particular, I was inviting the new neighbor, but since that's _you_, by inviting you I do now mean you as in you, Penny." Leonard stopped to catch his breath; he really needed to learn to just stop talking when he was nervous. He hoped he wouldn't need to get his inhaler out. "Anyway, we're ordering in an hour - I guess fifty-something minutes now - and I thought it would be nice to invite the new neighbour so… yeah." He finished off his ramble by trailing off and placing his hands in his pockets before summarising his invitation. "Would you like to join my roommate and I for Indian food?"

Penny smiled at him, touched by his invitation and finding his awkwardness incredibly adorable. "Aww, that's so sweet! I'd love that."

"Really? Okay… cool. Do you already know what you'd like, or do you want a menu? Or-"

"Oh I'm easy, I'll just have whatever you're having."

"Great. We usually just order a few things so I'll get extra. I'll let you know when I've got it, should be around an hour and a half. Maybe a little longer depending on traffic."

"That sounds great." Penny smiled; his shyness was so cute.

Leonard hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, but he also wanted to spend more time with her. "Umm, do you need any help unpacking or anything?"

"Oh, that would be so great!" Penny stepped aside to let him into her apartment, eager to find out more about this guy. When he looked at her for guidance on where to start, she bit her lip. "Could you do me a favor, actually?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Would you be able to connect me to your WiFi? Just until I get mine set up?"

"Of course! I'm guessing that's your laptop on the kitchen counter?"

"Yeah, the password is Cu2911. No spaces, capital 'c' and a little 'u'." Penny told him as she stepped over a box to open another one and unpack it into a bookcase.

"Cu2911?" Leonard raised a brow.

"You know, Cu – copper, like what pennies are made of because I'm Penny. 29 is its atomic number and 11 because I was born in November." She explained casually as she began placing her books on the shelf. "Normally I don't give people my password or explain all of that but I need the WiFi."

"It is a lot of information to be giving a stranger."

"You're not a stranger. You're my neighbour!" Penny pointed out excitedly, looking over at him.

He nodded as though to say 'fair enough' as he loaded up her desktop, deciding to try and make conversation. "So... what brings you to North Los Robles Avenue?"

"Bad break-up." Penny sighed. "I mean, I knew it was coming but I just wanted to hold on to what we _did_ have for as long as possible. Anyway, it was technically his apartment so I had to find my own place."

"Oh that's too bad. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I knew he was cheating on me for a long time, trust me. I was just stupid enough to think he would ever change into a better person. God, guys can be such jerks." Penny huffed before glancing apologetically over at him. "Sorry, no offence."

"None taken." Leonard shrugged. "The current WiFi password is jedimaster – no spaces. Just for future reference."

"Jedi master." Penny snorted.

"Yeah… my roommate and I, we're kinda… nerdy, I guess. Sorry." Leonard blushed. That was never impressive, no matter how he said it.

"Oh don't worry about it, I know a lot of nerds."

"You do?" Leonard blinked. Pretty women like Penny never knew any or many nerds at all. "You do realise that just me and my friends yesterday at the restaurant doesn't count as knowing a lot of nerds?"

Laughing, Penny shook her head. "No, I'm a Physics graduate. Most of the people who do that kinda stuff are into that kinda stuff."

"I'm sorry, you're a Physics graduate?" Leonard blinked, staring at her with his mouth open.

"Yeah. I'm actually starting my doctorate studies next month."

Again, Leonard simply blinked at her. "You are?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Penny smirked. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Of course I do! It's just… okay, it is kinda hard to believe. You don't look like… never mind. I just didn't expect that."

"Don't worry, I get that a lot." Penny shrugged, standing up and stretching her back a little before joining him at the kitchen counter. "I only studied it in the first place because my parents wanted me to do something academic since my brother and sister were... let's just say they didn't even make it through high school. Anyway they told me unless I pick something respectable they wouldn't help pay tuition and then two colleges offered me scholarships so... it kind of went from there and turns out I actually quite enjoyed Physics a lot more than I said I did."

"Wow. Well it's good that you like it, considering how much work you've put into getting this far."

"Yeah, it's not everybody's cup of tea. Sometimes I kinda like how surprised people are. The element of surprise is a good one. It's just when they start with the whole 'but you're a girl, you can't be a scientist' crap that annoys me. And I get it a lot." Penny sighed.

"I was just surprised. No offence meant." Leonard put up his hands.

"I know. It's okay. I don't exactly scream 'I'm a scientist!' and you didn't say anything bad." Penny assured him, watching over his shoulder as he finished up the WiFi connection.

"I'm glad. There we go - that's your laptop all connected to our WiFi." Leonard slid the laptop slightly over on the counter toward Penny.

"Thank you!" Penny grinned, opening the browser to check it was working. "Yay! That's perfect. I'll have to set it up on my phone too. Oh! First point of call, I should add you on Facebook."

"Umm... okay. Sure." Leonard watched as she navigated to the page. This was one of the rare times somebody added _him _as a friend.

"Leonard..." Penny typed his first name slowly, prompting him for his last name.

"Hofstadter." Leonard said, before proceeding to immediately spell it out for her almost out of habit. "Yup, that top one is me."

"Ooh, that is one fancy ass profile picture there Mr. Handsome!" Penny bit her lip as she clicked on the 'Add Friend' button, eyes still on his photo. "You look so good!"

"Thanks." Leonard blushed. He always thought it was slightly vain of him to use that photograph but he never could figure out what to use instead. "It's one of my headshots." He admitted quietly.

"Headshots?" Penny raised a brow as she turned her head to look at him, hands still on the keyboard of her laptop. "Like... what an actor has?"

"Yeah." Leonard turned even redder and he wrung his hands together nervously. "That's what I do. I'm an actor. Kind of."

"No way." _Wow, he just went from cute to hot_. "So... would I have seen you anything?" Penny turned around so she could lean back against the counter.

"Uh, not really." Leonard admitted. This was always the case: people found out he was an actor and got excited until they learned that his career wasn't really all that impressive. Sometimes he thought that this was only fixed in his mind because of all the teasing he got from his friends - after all, it wasn't _his _fault he was too short to ever play a superhero - but the three girls he'd told on dates had never been particularly impressed. If anything, Penny seemed more impressed than anybody he knew by his being an actor. _She's just being nice, don't get your hopes up, _Leonard reminded himself.

"Come on, there must be something." Penny probed.

"I've just done a couple of local plays and a commercial. It's a hard industry."

"What commercial was it?"

"Oh..." Leonard _really _didn't want to tell her about what the commercial was for - but it was the only impressive thing he'd done to date. "Uh, it's nothing you would have seen."

"I have a TV, I see commercials." Penny justified.

"It was just a small commercial, nothing fancy." Leonard did his best to stall telling her.

"It was still a commercial, and it was still on television. Give it up, Leonard Hofstadter. What was it for?"

"It was for... uh, hemorrhoid cream."

Penny burst into laughter, her head falling back. Embarrassed as he was, Leonard couldn't help but enjoy the sound of her laughter and the smile on her face. She put a hand over her mouth when she realized that she had laughed out loud and then grasped his arm. "Oh my God, I am so sorry. But that is _hilarious_. I have _got _to see this."

"Unfortunately for you this was last year so it's no longer on air." Leonard teased and she pouted at him in a way that got straight to his heart, so he gave in. "But fortunately for you, Howard has a copy of it somewhere."

"Howard - that guy who asked for my number yesterday?" Penny scrunched up her face.

"Yeah, him. He found the commercial so hilarious that he recorded it to use as blackmail against me."

"Oh this I have _got _to see."

"You really wanna risk going to Howard's house just for that commercial?"

"He can't be _that _bad."

"Trust me. He is." Leonard warned. "If you search 'creepy' in the dictionary, his photo comes up underneath the word."

"Wow. Okay, so I guess I won't be seeing it any time soon." Penny raised her brows. "But still, an actor. That's kinda cool."

"Yeah, getting turned down at hundreds of auditions - cool. Does wonders for my self esteem. What I thought was going to build my confidence actually does the _exact _opposite. But still, when I'm actually acting, it's really great. I do really enjoy it, it's just tough." Leonard told her, before trying to move the conversation along to something less embarrassing. "The money isn't steady, obviously, so I work in the IT department at Caltech."

"Caltech?" Penny's eyes widened. "As in California Institute of Technology?"

"That's the one."

"No freakin' way! That's where I'm doing my Ph.D. studies!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow." Leonard chuckled. "It's a very, very small world. Well... I look forward to seeing you there. If you ever need a spare pen or help with your laptop... I'm your guy."

"Great. I'll have to swing by for a pen or two." Penny said, mentally slapping herself for her inability to come up with anything wittier. For a scientist she didn't come across quite so smart. And for someone as confident as she was, she could really be quite dorky. Her mother said it was cute, but Penny thought it was anything but and her friends took great joy in teasing her about her dorky moments.

"I look forward to it." There was an awkward silence in which he nodded a few times before clearing his throat, not wanting their conversation to end. "I actually met Sheldon, Howard and Raj there. Sheldon had a flier up looking for a new roommate and I needed somewhere to live. Howard was always being called into Human Resources and he noticed my lightsaber pen when I was there signing some forms. Raj was new and was friends with Howard."

"A lightsaber pen?" Penny grinned. "You really are a nerd, aren't you? I hope you have a spare one for me."

Leonard made a mental note to buy some extra lightsaber pens in case she did ever decide to stop by his office. "Of course."

"God, it seems like everyone I know here is at Caltech." Penny frowned. "I guess I'll have at least two friends there."

"You know someone there already?"

"Yeah, one of the waitresses at work is studying there too. Not right now, obviously, it's the holidays, but she will be."

"That's cool. I'm sure you'll have more than two friends there."

"I'm satisfied with the two I've already got." Penny grinned. "I should get back to my unpacking. Build up an appetite for that Indian food."

"Do you need any help? Or do you want me to leave me to it?"

"No, you should stay! If you want, that is. The company is pretty great. Umm..." Penny looked around her apartment, hands on her hips. "That box over there has my DVDs and CDs in it, you could empty those into the new media center? Sorry though, no Star Wars."

"Sure. Any particular organizational system? Alphabetical, by actor, by-"

"Anything is fine, sweetie." Penny smiled.

"I'll go with alphabetical."

She watched him sit down with the box and start to take them out and pile them up in an alphabetical system, nervously shuffling her feet. She could trust this guy to help her, right? Sure, they hadn't known each other long, but he seemed nice and willing to help her settle in. "Umm, Leonard? Could you do me a favor when you're done with that?" Penny asked, bending down to pick up another box so it didn't seem as though she'd been watching him that whole time.

"Of course, what is it?"

"My TV is kinda... still at my ex-boyfriends place." She bit her lip awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't take her request the wrong way.

"Oh... you want me to go and get it?" Leonard knew that he would get it if that was what he wanted. Hell, he'd probably do anything for her - she was gorgeous and more interested in him than anyone else he knew. She called his headshot _handsome_, for crying out loud!

"No, no! I just need someone to come with me. Although... maybe it would be kinda awkward if I was there. He probably wouldn't give it to me..." Penny trailed off.

"I don't mind going to get it." Leonard offered immediately. "I can get it on my way back from picking up the Indian food. I'll take Sheldon with me."

"Really? That's so sweet of you, thank you!"

"Don't worry about it. Moving is stressful enough as it is."

"It really is. I had to keep sneaking in to get all my stuff from his apartment when he wasn't there but I couldn't get the TV on my own so I thought I'd ask him nicely and then he told me to give him his key and... yeah."

"Then we definitely want to avoid that. Exes are the worst." Leonard stated as though he had plenty of experience with them.

"They are, aren't they?" Penny nodded, opening the box at last so she could unpack it.

Knowing that she wouldn't have to face Kurt again for her television was a great weight off her shoulders, but she could only hope that he would give it to Leonard. Sure Kurt was a jerk, but he couldn't do anything to a stranger. And currently she was enjoying his use of the word 'exes' - in her mind, that meant he was single. Not that she was looking to instantly pounce on him, but at least there was the option of something happening at some point. "When the TV is all set up again you could always come over and show me one of your Star Wars movies." Not that she'd never seen them - but she'd watch them again with Leonard, gladly.


	3. 2 Blonde Pretty Girl

"Oh my God." Penny slapped a hand to her mouth. Upon opening her front door she had discovered Leonard and Sheldon both pants-less holding her television looking equally unimpressed. She stepped aside instantly to let them in. "What happened?"

"Your Hulk-like ex-boyfriend stole our pants and said he wasn't giving back your television." Sheldon explained as he and Leonard moved slowly and carefully to move the television toward the media center in the front room of her apartment. "But Leonard over here refused to leave without it. He gave us wedgies but those were fixable and we got the television."

"I am _so _sorry." Penny apologised, hands clasped at her chest.

"You should be."

"Sheldon!" Leonard groaned, before turning his head to look at Penny. "It's fine, Penny, it wasn't the first time that's happened to us - and it won't be the last."

"How is it fine?" Sheldon questioned. "My mother bought me those pants!"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I'll buy you another pair... I'll take you guys out for dinner tomorrow night, how does that sound?"

Placing the television down, Sheldon stood straight and glared at her while Leonard began to adjust the angle they'd placed it at. "Seriously? You _really _think food is going to make up for having a grown man steal my pants?"

"No." Penny said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Well, seeing as there is nothing else you can do to better the situation, I guess I have to accept your apology."

"Well... thank you for getting my TV."

"Don't worry about it." Leonard shrugged as though the whole ordeal had been without any issues whatsoever. "We'll just buy some new pants and it'll be as if nothing happened."

"Oh, no, I'll get you new pants." Penny immediately offered.

"Seriously, it's okay." Leonard gave her a smile in attempt to reassure her.

"No, it's the least I can do."

"As our neighbor, the least you could do is introduce yourself properly since the paradigm of our acquaintance has changed from you being our waitress to living opposite us. While I understand that you have acquainted yourself sufficiently with Leonard, you have not had the decency to do the same with me." Sheldon said, coming over to her. "Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D."

"A Ph.D., huh?" Penny grinned, extending a hand. "I'm Penny. Waitress and future Ph.D. student."

"_You're _doing a Ph.D.?" Sheldon asked disbelievingly.

"Sheldon." Leonard warned.

"Yup." Penny folded her arms stubbornly, realizing that he would not be shaking her hand in greeting.

"In what?"

"Well my undergraduate degree and masters were in Physics so... take a guess."

"That's rhetorical, by the way." Leonard said to Sheldon before explaining to Penny, "he's not very good at getting sarcasm."

Sheldon looked at Penny skeptically. "You're not seriously going to study for a Ph.D."

"Dead serious."

"If you're so smart why are you only a waitress?" Sheldon challenged, determined to catch her out.

"Excuse me, plenty of smart people work little jobs to earn money on the side! My studies don't fund themselves you know, and apartments aren't free."

After a pause in which he tried to accept her words, Sheldon shook his head. "You're not _seriously _a Ph.D. student."

"I am very much so. You wanna see my admissions forms?"

"But you're not... you're... you're..."

"Blonde? Pretty? A girl?" Penny put her hands on her hips. "Seriously, go ahead."

"Umm..."

"Blonde pretty girls can be scientists too, Sheldon." Leonard said.

"You don't have a board." Sheldon pointed out, as though this was some form of scientific verificiation. "I have a whiteboard."

"My whiteboard is in my bedroom and I'm getting a new one for the living room this weekend when I go shopping."

"Oh." Sheldon stared at Penny, keen to find a reason she simply couldn't be telling the truth about her academic status. Eventually, when he came up with nothing else, he gave in. "The Indian food will get cold if we don't eat it."

"Right, Indian food! I forgot you were going to get that!" Penny clapped her hands together. "Ugh, I am _starving_."

"I can imagine you must be after moving." Leonard smiled, happy to be back in the conversation. Gesturing to the hallway, he quickly added "we're just gonna go put on some pants."

"Tell me about it. All I had was some Cheerios this morning at my friends house after she left for work. I'm pretty sure the milk was a little out of date but I can't complain, she let me stay there all week without paying for anything. And _then _her boyfriend just appeared from her bedroom which explained why I woke up in the middle of the night thinking hey, sounds like she's really having a restless sleep up there... guess she wasn't sleeping after all! Luckily he had clothes on, could have been _so _awkward. I didn't even know he was there! I had a white t-shirt on too, _not _the most ideal clothing in the morning when someone walks in and you're still cold from rummaging around in the fridge, right?" Penny laughed before realizing the stunned looks on the two guys faces who had returned from their bedrooms. "So... yeah. I've only had Cheerios today."

"Well, here, take a seat and have as much as you want." Leonard gestured to the coffee table, where they'd placed the Indian food before having gone back downstairs to bring Penny's television upstairs.

"Okay, thank you." Penny grinned and went to sit down.

"Not there!" Sheldon yelled instinctively as Penny went to sit on the leftmost couch cushion.

"Uh..." Penny hovered mid-sit. "Why?"

"That's my spot."

"O-kay." Penny slid over to the other end of the couch. She was accustomed to crazy, but that was a whole other level of crazy. Who got that upset over a couch cushion? "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you're just feeding the crazy." Leonard told Penny as he handed her a plate and cutlery. "Do you want a drink?"

"Sure, just some water would be great."

"Are you sure? We have soda, coffee, tea, juice, milk..."

"Ooh, coffee would be _great_."

"One coffee coming right up!"

"Coffee at lunch?" Sheldon looked at Penny skeptically. "You won't be able to sleep."

"Tried and tested, Sheldon, I think I'll sleep just fine. I'm a scientist too, remember."

"It's easy to forget that you are."

"Sheldon." Leonard muttered as he handed Penny a cup of coffee and sat down in his armchair.

"Oh, it's fine, really - I've heard it _all _before. Trust me. This isn't new. Thank you, by the way." She lifted her mug in Leonard's direction before taking a sip. "Delicious."

"No problem. Just help yourself to some food."

"Oh, thank you!" Penny immediately plunged a fork into the closest container, picking up a slice of meat and placing it in her mouth, before getting a forkful of rice.

"Uh..." Sheldon glared at Penny as though she had just committed the biggest criminal offence right in front of his eyes.

"We'll just have it family style, Sheldon, and take what we want. I told you that earlier, remember?"

"Well, you and Penny share, and I'll just have all the Dhansak Masala here. She just infected the Korma and special fried rice."

"Sheldon!"

"It's fine, we can share, you don't mind, right?" Penny smiled at Leonard. "I had a friend who freaked out if I did that with food rather than using a clean fork to put it on my plate first. Besides, he's crazy enough already, I don't think I could spend the whole meal with him glaring at me like that just so I could enjoy some Dhansak. I can run a laser experiment but I can't deal with _him_."

"No, nobody can." Leonard chuckled. "Okay, we'll share. The brown rice is Sheldon's. He usually has the Korma too, but... that's all yours now, so go ahead."

"You don't like Korma?"

"He's lactose intolerant." Sheldon explained. "He likes it, but you won't like him once he starts-"

"Okay, she gets it, Sheldon!" Leonard hurriedly shushed his friend, making Penny giggle.

"Touchy. Must be the soy milk."

Penny shook her head, amused, before patting Leonard's knee and turning to Sheldon to change the subject. "So, you have a Ph.D. - what's your field of study?"

"Astrophysics."

"Ah, that would explain that big ass telescope by the window." Penny nodded.

"I received my Ph.D. at sixteen." Sheldon said proudly.

"Your teen years must have been _so _fun." Penny raised her brows before returning to her food.

"Oh, they were." Sheldon replied, missing completely her sarcasm.

"I'm sure." Penny nodded, holding back a giggle. She turned back to Leonard, her curiosity over these two friends growing with each moment. "So how does an actor end up working in the IT department of a university?"

"My parents are very academically inclined so... I had to at least get a degree of some sort. They hated that I was into acting so I figured it would get them off my case. Turns out being the lead in school plays doesn't mean you're going to get all the parts out there in the real world so I'm actually thankful for that degree. And I'm never confident enough to go for those really _out there _parts no matter how much I want them." Leonard explained. "That's why I got into acting - I wanted to build my confidence and I just really liked it."

"Aww, well something'll come along! I'm sure you're great. Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't have an Oscar yet; even the best people miss out in the industry. You'll get something really good. Especially with that headshot." Penny bit back a smirk. "And this way I'll know who to go to with all my laptop problems."

"You're a Ph.D. candidate and you have _laptop problems?_" Sheldon scoffed. She was giving him _so _many reasons to think she was lying about her Ph.D. and none to prove her academic capabilities.

"We're not all laptop geniuses, okay!" Penny snapped. Truth was, she was absolutely fine with laptops. She could have easily connected to their WiFi earlier too. But why admit that when your neighbor was that cute? "You'll help me set up my account with the university, right, Leonard?"

"Oh, sure." Leonard stopped himself from adding 'anything you want' to the end of his sentence. He knew he would buy her a new laptop just for her studies if that was what she wanted. Despite knowing how freely girls tended to use him both in the hopes that his being an actor would get them closer to famous people (it didn't) or for fast, easy technical help, and despite how often he had told himself he'd stop giving in to those girls, he had no trouble agreeing to anything Penny had asked of him. "Just let me know when."

"I will."

They continued to eat in silence, and Leonard couldn't help but cast frequent glances over at Penny. To him, she was everything he could want in a woman: hot, cute, kind, caring, pretty, interesting, interes_ted_, funny and smart in more than one sense of the word. And she was a _scientist_. How many girls were all of those things - and how many of them did he know? One. Confident as he felt whilst acting, he knew asking her out would require a _lot _more confidence than he actually had. She likely had thousands of guys, probably even actors better than him, interested in her. He made a mental note never to introduce her to anybody from his acting class.

Still, he could always try to subtly hint that he was interested in her. Perhaps by the time it was enough of a hint for her to notice she would have fended off all the other guys and he would have a shot. Clearing his throat, Leonard looked up from his food. "So... how's your food?" He wished he had thought of something before opening his mouth.

"It's really good."

"Good, good." Leonard poked at his rice, mixing it in with the sauce even though he wasn't a huge fan of doing such a thing with his food. "I'll give you a copy of the menu, I got one when I picked up the order."

"Awesome, that'd be great. I _love _Indian food. Ooh, do you know what I love even more? Chinese food!"

"Oh, well we're having Chinese tomorrow for dinner! You can join us!" Leonard grinned a little too enthusiastically.

"You're inviting her to Chinese food night?" Sheldon moaned. "But we won't have enough dumplings! They serve the perfect amount to split between myself, you, Howard and Koothrappali."

"We'll just get an extra order."

"And how are we supposed to split so many dumplings between five of us? We'll be full before we even get to our mains!"

"It's okay, I love dumplings - I'll eat the extra ones." Penny shrugged.

"Umm, I don't think so." Sheldon pointed his fork at her. "We split the price equally so everybody gets the same amount of food. You cannot mess with the system and have extra dumplings."

"Okay, so we'll split them between us and whatever we don't finish is ours to save for leftovers." Leonard suggested. "You can't argue with that logic."

"Ooh, leftovers are always the best. It's like preparing lunch for the next day in advance." Penny's eyes lit up. "I always save a little bit for the next day anyway - I do the same with pizza too. There's just something about eating it the day after."

"_Please _don't invite her to pizza night." Sheldon said to Leonard.

"Sheldon, don't be so rude." Leonard scolded before returning his attention. "You are of course invited to pizza night."

"Well, if Sheldon doesn't want me there, we could always-"

"It's okay, it's not that he doesn't want you there it's just that he's an insane man who struggles with the concept of diving pizza slices differently. He hates change."

Penny quickly stuffed a forkful of rice and korma in her mouth. She'd been about to suggest that she just go out for pizza with Leonard, hoping to use Sheldon's dislike of her joining them as a way to casually set a sort-of date with Leonard. She figured she needed to stop trying before she really embarrassed herself. Apparently Bernadette was right; she _was _losing her game. Trying to use her crush's roommates dislike of her as an attempt to get a date? _Pathetic, Penny, _she scolded herself.

"Why change something that already works?" Sheldon quipped.

"Well with me moving in here, you're in for a whole lotta change!" Penny winked, which made him twitch oddly. At least now she had something else to focus on. "Gee, sorry." She turned to Leonard and whispered, "what is up with that?"

"He's crazy is the only explanation." He grinned before teasing; "you're a blonde pretty girl with a brain to boot, you should have deduced that by now."

"Eh, I'm more into experimental physics - I like to test the extent of the crazy before I come to a conclusion. Some things are just... baffling." Penny shrugged, hoping he didn't notice her blush. That was twice he'd called her 'blonde pretty girl' - and even though he was using her phrase from earlier when she'd been defending herself, at least he'd just freely called her pretty. Leonard saying she was pretty was a thousand times better from a stranger saying she was 'hot'. Perhaps there was hope after all. Or not, she quickly decided, feeling korma sauce dribble down her chin after a particularly loaded forkful of food. _Great. I really am losing my game._


	4. 3 Cheesecake

"Ooh, look who just arrived at the restaurant!" Bernadette teased in a sing-song voice.

Penny leaned backwards to get a view of the entrance door, her eyes lighting up. "Yay!" She smoothed down her apron. "Quick, how do I look?"

"Like a waitress who works at the Cheesecake Factory."

"But a hot one, right?"

"Sure." Bernadette shrugged; there was only a certain level of 'hot' one could achieve in these uniforms. Admittedly Penny was probably as hot as these uniforms got, so she couldn't really argue that she _didn't _look hot, given the circumstances.

"Good." Penny shook out her hair slightly before turning on her heel to greet the four guys she had been getting to know recently - most importantly her neighbours. She had learned from said neighbours that Sheldon was very insistent on having a regular eating schedule and since their first visit last week the Cheesecake Factory had been deemed as a suitable Tuesday replacement, and Leonard went along with these things to avoid further arguments with Sheldon. Her neighbours were the definition of quirky, and Penny for the most part found it amusing. She seated the guys at their 'regular table' as Sheldon had proclaimed it, getting their drinks started and orders taken before returning to Bernadette who was watching her with a big grin. "What?"

"You like that little glasses guy, doncha? You're attracted to him!" Bernadette was practically ecstatic.

"Of course I'm attracted to him!" Penny exclaimed. There was no point in denying it; every time they were working together she would be trying to bring Leonard into the conversation. "Have you _seen _him? You should see his profile photo. And he's so sweet. He's not like, _out there _like all the other guys, he's all shy and cute - it's a nice change."

* * *

Leonard watched with a smile as Penny spoke animatedly to a fellow waitress. He could have sworn she had glanced his way a few times, even catching his eye once or twice - but he could easily have imagined these instances with the amount of staring he was doing. Maybe she'd caught him staring, but he hadn't noticed. It was probably weird and creepy to be staring so much, but he reasoned that it wasn't worse than Howard and his sleazy attempts at pick-up lines.

"Leonard? Are you listening?"

He was dragged out of his reverie when Raj nudged him painfully in the arm with his elbow. "Huh?"

"Star Wars marathon tomorrow at your place." Howard said.

"Oh. Right. Sure, that sounds fun."

"Fun? Leonard, it's an overnight marathon of Star Wars games, movies, Lego, episodes, lightsaber fights... it is going to be _awesome_." Sheldon beamed.

"What's going to be awesome?" Penny asked, having arrived with their drinks.

"We're doing a marathon." Sheldon stated excitedly.

"Uh... running one? Or like, a movie marathon."

"A Star Wars marathon." Howard smirked, and Leonard inwardly cursed himself for having legs too short to be able to kick Howard under the table. "All day and all night, baby. Care to join?"

"Oh, no thank you. I'm not really into Star Wars." Penny shrugged. "When your college roommate had a huge obsession and wouldn't shut up about it, it kinda puts you off enjoying it too much."

"There is no such thing as too much Star Wars." Sheldon breathed, on his last nerve with Penny.

"Just ignore him." Leonard sighed, wishing desperately that Penny at least _sort of _liked Star Wars so they could watch it together at some point.

"I plan to." Penny nodded. "Enjoy your drinks, I'll bring your food out when it's ready."

Waiting until Penny had walked away (and by waiting, he used that time to watch her walk - she looked great even from behind), Leonard groaned at his friends. "You couldn't just be cool around her, could you? You just had to mention Star Wars!"

"Yeah, like she didn't know you were into Star Wars." Howard scoffed.

"Well she didn't need to know about the marathon!" Leonard mumbled frustratedly.

"What's with you dude?" Raj scrunched up his face.

"He's into her." Howard raised his brows, evidently enjoying himself.

"What?"

"Leonard has a crush on Penny and believes her knowing the extent of his obsession with Star Wars will hinder any chance he has at starting a relationship with her." Howard explained with a laugh.

"Shh! Not so loud! She might hear you! Are you crazy?" Leonard frantically tried to hush his friend.

"Well at least she would know if she heard me saying that!" Howard argued. "Plant the seed in her mind. Then she can start working on how to let you down easy while you work up the courage to ask her out."

"Who's to say she'll say no?"

"You seriously think the hot blonde scientist is going to want to go out with a sort-of actor like you?" Raj challenged.

"Umm..." Leonard looked at his hands. His friends were right; there was every reason that Penny would say no if he ever managed to ask her out. She was beautiful with big ambitions, he was struggling with his own aspirations and instead focused his passion on collecting comic books. She looked hot, and he looked... well, Leonard didn't really want to go there. His confidence already suffered enough without jabbing at his own appearance. Still, surely the chance of a relationship with Penny wasn't _totally _ruled out just because of those differences. "Maybe?"

"What would you do even if you _did _ask her out? Force her to watch Star Wars?" Howard asked.

"She doesn't like Star Wars." Sheldon reminded them, missing the joke.

"Shut up! Maybe she likes it, she just doesn't think she does because of her old roommate." Leonard justified. "That's a possibility."

"An unlikely one." Raj snorted. "This is going to be a fun journey, watching you try to chase her."

"I'm not sure what's more likely; Leonard advancing in his career or Leonard successfully dating Penny." Sheldon pondered.

"I thought I told you guys to shut up!" Leonard groaned.

"You did, we just chose to ignore your request."

* * *

"Penny? What are you doing here?" Sheldon raised a brow; she knew, after all, that they were due to begin their Star Wars marathon within the next half hour when Howard and Raj arrived.

"I brought some stuff over for you guys to enjoy during your marathon." Penny held a bag up. "I got some goodies after my shift last night."

"So you brought us leftovers from the Cheesecake Factory?" Sheldon scrunched up his face.

"They're not leftovers!"

"We already eat at the Cheesecake Factory once a week, why would we want more food from there?"

"Ugh, most people would say thank you." Penny rolled her eyes. "Where's Leonard?"

"He's in his room."

"Okay. So can you let me in?"

Sheldon stared at her for a moment. "Alright. As long as you leave before the Star Wars marathon."

"Trust me, I will be gone by then." Sheldon stepped aside and gestured into the apartment. Penny came inside and he closed the door behind her before watching her head to the hallway and stop. "Which one is Leonard's room?"

"The one at the end. You're going to his room?"

"Well I'm not exactly gonna just sit here with you and wait since you don't want the food I brought."

"Very well."

Penny rolled her eyes in Sheldon's direction before heading down to the end of the hallway and knocking on the door. "Leonard?"

Inside his room, Leonard raised a brow upon hearing Penny's voice. Curiously, he went over and opened it. "Penny?"

"Hey! Can I come in? I bought you some stuff for your Star Wars thingy." She held the bag up and he let her into his room. "It's just some food from the Cheesecake Factory but I thought you'd like it anyway. Wow, you have a _lot _of stuff in here." Penny observed as she looked around at the vast array of comics, figurines and posters in his room.

"Yeah... I like to collect memorabilia." Leonard shuffled his feet, embarrassed. He wished he hadn't let her into his room. At least his bed was made.

She sat down on the bed and held the bag out to him. "Here."

Taking the bag, Leonard saw small takeaway boxes of fruit salad, an assortment of what he recognised to be starters from the menu, and a two large boxes at the bottom which he assumed to be cheesecakes. He wondered if she'd forgotten that he was lactose intolerant. "Thank you, Penny, they'll come in really useful. Raj is planning on bringing low-calorie snacks so these will definitely be better."

"That's great! And don't worry, I got the chef to make some cheese-free nachos for you and a cheesecake using dairy free products. Did you know there's actually non-dairy versions of stuff? How cool is that? I don't know if it tastes the same but it doesn't smell any different. The other box is just slices of different cakes, but that cheesecake has no dairy or lactose so you can eat that if you don't want to risk the others."

"Really?" Leonard was stunned. She _had _remembered. And she'd had a special one made for him!

"Yeah. My friend and I did some stuff a while back to optimise the kitchen so we get a few perks every now and then; I just had to ask." Penny grinned proudly. "But we didn't do _that _much stuff, so don't expect more dairy free cheesecakes in the near future."

"Oh, absolutely, no, this is great. I'm looking forward to finally getting to eat some of this cheesecake."

"They _are _our specialty, after all."

"I wouldn't have guessed what with it being called the Cheesecake Factory."

"Oh shut up." Penny kicked a leg out in his direction. "So you excited for your marathon thingy?"

Figuring that since she already knew the extent of his passion for Star Wars, Leonard decided to involve her in his current situation. "I am; they're always fun. I'm just trying to decide which t-shirt Star Wars themed to wear: the blue one or the black one."

"Ooh, you're really going all out for this, aren't you?" Penny giggled. "Let's see these t-shirts then."

"Okay." Leonard picked up the two t-shirts he had laid out on his armchair and held them up, one in each hand. "These."

"Umm..." Penny tilted her head in consideration, which Leonard found adorable - especially coupled with her thoughtful pout. "Well, black is _always _a great color for picking clothes. It works with everything. But blue - that color really suits you."

Puffing out his chest, Leonard found himself smiling. "Really?" He turned to hold the blue t-shirt against himself and see his reflection in the mirror. He didn't get the whole 'color suits you' thing (he never did understand that) but it _was _a cool t-shirt. Though if he was honest, if Penny liked the blue t-shirt, he didn't need much convincing beyond her approval. "Okay, blue t-shirt it is."

"Yay! Put it on, I wanna see."

Not understanding what the obsession was with wanting to see him wear a different t-shirt - awesome as it was, it _was _just a t-shirt after all - Leonard shrugged. Girls and clothes just made no sense in his opinion. "Okay. I'll be right back."

"You don't have to leave the room just to change your t-shirt, Leonard."

"Oh. Okay." Leonard shuffled over to his armchair so he was slightly further away from her, a little shy about changing in front of her. Though he had to admit he did have the bonus of keeping fit as an actor - he'd been in worse shape. Maybe taking his top off however briefly would give him a bonus point in his attempts to get her to like him. He thought he could feel her eyes on him as he started to remove his layers but he didn't risk looking over.

Once he'd removed his t-shirt, Penny found herself biting down on her lip. This guy really wore too many layers.

"What do you think?"

His question brought Penny out of her mini-trance. "Uh-huh. Yeah, it looks great." Clearing her throat, she nodded. "Perfect for your marathon. It looks comfortable and great. Yeah, blue really suits you." She was prepared to hit herself on the head for not being able to shut up.

"Great!" Leonard grinned, happy that she liked his t-shirt so much. Girls liked clothes, so if she liked his, that was a good thing - right? "Next time I have an audition I'll have to ask you to help me pick out an outfit."

"Yes!" Penny agreed a little too enthusiastically.

"Okay, awesome." Leonard chuckled nervously. She seemed to be acting strange; maybe she didn't really want to help him. Or maybe she just _really _liked clothes. He had been told before that he should consider his appearance when going for auditions or meeting with directors - but he never understood just what was wrong with the way he looked. The corduroy suit was always a winner, so perhaps it was the shoes. Either way, at least he now had somebody to help him in that department.

Standing up, Penny ran her hands down her sides. "I should get going, Sheldon didn't want me to be here when Raj and Howard arrived so you guys can start the marathon promptly and I have stuff to do, so... yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"I'll see you out." Leonard smiled, leading the way out of his room and back to the living room. "Thanks for helping with the t-shirt."

"Oh, no problem. At _all_." Penny raised her brows. "Any time, seriously. Have fun with your marathon!"

* * *

With the guys having their marathon, Penny went out that night with a few of her friends. She loved going out; spending time with her friends and not having to worry about her school work or moving or anything else was great - a time to just enjoy herself. They had pre-drinks at her friends house before heading out to a club. Initially she was wary of dancing with other guys and kept declining, and eventually her friends got at her: "that's so unlike you" "but he was so into you!" "why didn't you just say yes?" all repeatedly cropped up. And the more she drank, the clearer it was to her that she _did _have a reason as to why she was keeping to herself so much. And after the fifth tequila shot, she needed to prove to herself that she was wrong: Leonard was _not _the reason she was saying no to other guys. Absolutely not. She never reserved herself for another guy when she was single. Maybe she was just off her game. That must be it, right?

And so she danced with a few guys and then drank some more. She kissed one guy and then stopped because his over-muscular form reminded her of Kurt. Then she made out with a different one, but she didn't feel the heat or excitement or pleasure that usually came with it - her lips went through the motions, but her mind wandered. What the hell was this guy doing with his tongue? It was weird. Why had she worn this dress? It's not like anyone important was going to see her in it. And what would she have to eat tomorrow when she was inevitably hungover? She definitely didn't have the food supplies in her own fridge for that, and considering how much she had already spent tonight and the inevitable food cart snack she'd get upon leaving cancelled out the option of getting a takeaway. Penny moved the guys hand away from her ass and ended the kiss before going to wash her mouth out with two shots of Vodka. Not something she often did, but some people's kissing skills caused that necessity. The rest of the night was spent dancing with her girlfriends before one of their boyfriends picked them up and dropped them all off to their respective apartments.

She awoke the next morning without any clothes on but in her bed, and Penny was greatly relieved to be one hundred percent certain she had been alone all night. Pajamas had always been too much of an effort to locate and put on after nights out, especially after spending hours in a tight dress. She clung on to any surface she could on her way to the bathroom and then kitchen, needing the support for her hungover self. Once she'd crawled back into bed with a bottle of water, intent on spending her morning there feeling sorry for her hungover self, she checked through her phone before lying back down for a few more hours rest. It was midday when she next had the energy to pick up her phone, and just as luck had it there was a message from Leonard with a few of her favourite words: _**Off to pick up some takeaway for lunch, want me to bring you some to aid the inevitable hangover? **_

It was both sweet and funny; sweet that he thought of her and remembered her telling him she'd be going out, and funny because - and perhaps it was just her 'inevitable hangover' that made it funny - the phrasing of his question seemed almost like he was mocking her. Perhaps he was, but she couldn't tell his expression just from a text message. She replied with a _**Yes please! **_before scrolling through her messages and photos to check out the damage from the night before. Nothing too bad from what she could see, just some embarrassing photos that she definitely would not be sharing. She did the same with Facebook and then uploaded a few herself. Looking at her profile page, she smiled at the contradictory information and photos - the blonde party girl who worked as a waitress, but had a Masters degree in Physics. Soon enough she would be able to update that educational information. And perhaps the relationship status too, which had been dauntingly announcing that she was single for a while now - but now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.

Or perhaps not, as she heard a knock at the door followed by Leonard's voice calling out "Penny? I've got you some food!"

Grinning, she put down the phone. "Come in, it's open!"

It suddenly dawned on her that she was still naked and she managed to cover herself properly with her comforter just as Leonard stepped into her bedroom. Seeing her holding it cautiously against her chest, Leonard cleared his throat. "Oh, umm, sorry." He said, as though it was _his _fault that she hadn't bothered to even put a robe on before he'd arrived.

"No, it's okay, I just... forgot." Penny blushed, shifting slightly in the bed. "I was going to put some on after I showered. Promise." She didn't know why she was trying to explain herself to Leonard or why just _being _naked under her comforter was embarrassing - it wasn't something she'd ever been so shy about before. He didn't need to know that, of course, but she also knew she was allowed to be naked in her own apartment. Part of her began to think perhaps it would be fun to mess around with him a little, but she figured that he would most likely shy away or get the wrong idea - or not get her hints at all. She realized that he was just staring around her room while she stared at him, so she suddenly spoke up. "So, takeaway! What did you get?"

"What? Oh!" Leonard shook his head to focus his mind back to the situation. "Pizza, I got pizza. And fries, if you want some. If not we'll just have extra."

"No, I love fries! Pizza and fries sounds _amazing _right now. Thank you."

"No problem. How was your night?" Leonard asked, pulling out the bag of fries and small pizza box he'd gotten for Penny. The pizza place had been a bit confused by the change to his usual order, and when he explained that it was for his friend who had a hangover the guy had given him a knowing look. He'd almost responded with "I _wish_" but held it back. He _definitely _wished right now, especially knowing she was naked beneath her comforter.

"Yeah, it was good. Same old routine; drink, dance, gossip, come home... take off my clothes, too drunk to find jammies, sleep in the mess that is my bed, feel sorry for my hungover self, question why I had tequila..." Penny again found herself questioning why she was trying to explain her lack of clothing to him. Her mind yelled 'because you want him to know you didn't bring a guy home!' but she tried to shun that thought away.

"Well, the pictures look fun."

"They were fun at the time but I just look like a state in them all. Hey, you should come with us one day!"

"Oh..." Leonard was surprised by her sudden offer. "I dunno, it's not really my thing."

"Really? Come on, you're an actor, surely you've been to all these after parties and stuff. It's gotta be kind of your thing at least."

"Not really. For me it's just stand awkwardly in the corner and get ignored by the girls."

"Well then how about you come with my and my friends one day and we'll show you a good time." _Ha, "we'll"... more like I'm gonna show you a good time_, Penny instantly thought.

He was hesitant, but Leonard agreed anyway. How could he not agree to anything she said? "Alright."

"And I wanna come to the next after party you go to."

Grinning, Leonard nodded. That would improve the next after party for sure. "Deal." _Just don't flirt with any of the other actors. _He decided to let that panic slide until the situation arose. By the time he next had an after party to go to, perhaps he and Penny would be a bit closer - but still, there was no doubt there'd be better looking and more successful people than him there. He'd have to think about that later. Right now he was just excited that she would go with him. "I'll leave you to your pizza and shower. Sheldon's probably sat in his spot with steam coming out of his ears waiting for the food."

"Ah, right. Gotta feed the crazy." Penny giggled. "Thanks for the food. Hope you had a fun Star Wars marathon!"

This got Leonard grinning in a way she had never seen before. "It was _the best_. I'll tell you about it when you're less hungover and more clothed."

* * *

Knocking on the door to 4A, Penny felt... strange. She felt like the dorky version of herself that her friends always teased her about. But she also felt great about herself, because she knew Sheldon was currently out and Leonard was currently in on his own. Something about it was almost nerve-wracking, because her reason for visiting was almost unreasonable and stupid, though she knew that Leonard would be very pleased with it.

After a few seconds, Leonard opened the door, surprised to see Penny there. "Hey! What's up?"

"Umm, well, yesterday you said you'd tell me about your Star Wars marathon. And I got another of those dairy free cheesecakes made because I helped chef's son with his homework and babysat. So then we played his Lego Star Wars video game. So I thought, uh, you could tell me about your marathon and we could play the game because I saw you had that game too. And eat cheesecake." Penny held out the paper bag to him. _Okay, asking guys straight out on a date is way easier. This is just... scary. _

"Oh, awesome!" Leonard grinned, completely missing her nervousness due to his excitement that she wanted to play the video game. "Come in, I'll pour you some coffee - I just made it, I had a lie in to make up for the lack of sleep during our marathon."


	5. 4 Fascinating

The next few weeks continued in a similar manner: Penny making various attempts at getting closer to Leonard, who never got the hint. She had never tried so hard in her life to get the attention of a guy or persistently find ways to impress him. Sure, she had worked to impress guys before but it had always been easy and in the same way - use her looks and confidence to their fullest advantage. But Leonard was different; he was shy and anxious, taking all of her advances as friendly gestures - and he was not accustomed to friendly gestures in the first place, so he was always slightly overwhelmed by those alone.

Having completed a morning shift, Penny and Bernadette both decided to have their lunch at the Cheesecake Factory since it was free and the restaurant was fairly empty.

"So how is it going with Leonard?" Bernadette asked as they sat down with their coffees.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked innocently, stirring her coffee.

"_Please_! I see you attempting to flirt with him every single time he and his friends come in here for dinner. Oh and by the way, your attempts are getting lamer and lamer."

"Ugh, I know!" Penny groaned, throwing her spoon down onto the table. "What the hell has gotten into me?"

"I'd say your inner scientist is getting influenced by that nerd and you're just... becoming the stereotypical shy, awkward girl scientist trying to ask out a guy she has a crush on." Bernadette grinned.

"That is such a load of crap." Penny scoffed, though she knew Bernadette was probably right.

"If it's such a load of crap then why don't _you _explain to me why you haven't just gone up to him and asked him out like you normally would with any other guy you were attracted to?"

"Because!" Penny said instantly, getting defensive, though she had nothing to continue with and fell silent just as quickly.

"Because..."

Sighing, Penny stared at her coffee before taking a sip. "I dunno, I have my reasons. I don't have to tell you them."

"When is the last time you had a crush on a guy? Like, _really _liked him. Not just wanted to sleep with him."

Thinking, Penny chewed on her lip. When _was _the last time? "Guys usually come to me, or they're hot so I go up to them and we have dinner and then we have sex. Sometimes that becomes a relationship and sometimes it's just... two hot people being naked together for a while."

"Have you ever been in a relationship where it _wasn't _just for the sex?"

"Obviously! _God_ Bernadette, I'm not _that _slutty."

"Okay, you name one guy where you went out with him because you actually liked the person and not just their penis."

"Well, there was..." Penny paused, desperately trying to think of someone. Anyone. Literally anyone. "You know..." She racked her brain further before rolling her eyes. "Okay maybe I am that slutty."

"So maybe that's your problem." Bernadette giggled.

"That I'm a slut?"

"No! Well, yes, actually. You like Leonard as a person and you want him to like _you _as a person, and you've never had to deal with that before. And maybe because he's the first guy who didn't instantly try to get with you, even when you practically _told _him to ask for your number."

Peering at Bernadette, Penny frowned. "So when you asked me how things were going with Leonard, you really just wanted to remind me that I couldn't get a guys number for the first time in my life."

"No, that wasn't my intention, it was just a fortunate coincidence that I could bring that back up." Bernadette grinned. "But seriously. You need to up your game, it's just becoming embarrassing now to watch."

"Ugh, but it's so much harder now that we're friends! I don't wanna ruin that! But at the same time I want... more. I want all of that and more. But I don't know how to do that. I usually just want the more part, not the friends part."

"You'll figure it out."

"Sometimes I feel like I have to conform to this... weird, dorky version of me when I'm around him. I mean, I kind of like it. Maybe that _is _me. But I feel like... I feel like because I'm a scientist and I'm smart and I'm a girl, he's confused by me because I'm also that blonde who goes out and has a job as a waitress. People always find that so weird."

"So maybe you are a little nerdy on the side and he brings that out in you, is that so bad? And weren't you the one telling us all how weird it is that he's an actor which seems really cool but is into all of this weird nerdy stuff? Nobody adds up, Penny, that's what makes us interesting. It means everybody has something to teach somebody."

"Yeah... maybe. This is all just weird and new and I actually _like _him." Penny bit her lip in thought. "Maybe I do a little bit of the classic undo a few shirt buttons and wear a push up bra for when they come for dinner tomorrow."

"Now _that's _a classic Penny move. Not helping on the slutty front, but he'll notice." Bernadette laughed. "Now what about that guy he's always with? What's he like?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the turtleneck."

"Oh, Howard?" Penny scrunched up her face. "He's... Howard." Getting an inkling that perhaps Bernadette was interested in him, she decided not to elaborate too much. Especially since Bernadette had found him cute the first time the group of four had walked into the restaurant. "Jewish, nerdy, wears a lot of turtlenecks."

"Next time you're having dinner with all of them, you should invite me."

"Nope, nuh-uh. I am _not _setting you up with one of Leonard's friends when I can't even set myself up with Leonard. You'll just have to wait."

"Or I could try for myself and serve their table instead of you since your attempts to flirt with Leonard aren't going anywhere." Bernadette smirked.

"No. Let me try the shirt thing first."

"Fascinating. You claim you're not that slutty and that it's different with Leonard... yet after several failed attempts you revert to the old shirt trick."

"How is that fascinating?"

"Because I have never seen you _that _desperate to get someone to notice you in that way."

* * *

He had always thought that Penny was beautiful, even in her uniform, but when he and the guys went for their weekly dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Leonard was taken aback by how... _amazing _Penny looked. He thought she was wearing less make-up than usual but somehow her eyes looked very prominent. Soft curls framed her face perfectly. He couldn't quite put a finger on what was different about her uniform; while she spoke he was distracted by her red, glossy lips. She kept looking at him and he figured he should really stop staring, but that was easier said than done.

"Here are your drinks!" Penny announced, minutes into the conversation he was having with the guys about a deleted scene from the film they had watched earlier.

And that's when he figured out what was different about her uniform. She gave the rest of them their drinks, and then came over to lean directly beside him to place his drink down. She had undone at least two shirt buttons, but he couldn't be sure exactly how many because he was distracted by what was beneath the shirt. He knew it was rude to stare, but it was impossible not to. She did the same when she brought him his food out too. Briefly he wondered if she was aware of what she was doing, or if perhaps the display was for someone else. But as he watched her doing her job, she never bent forward anywhere near as much to give people their food or drinks - or maybe he was just imagining it to convince himself that she was doing it for him. That evening, he convinced his friends that they stay for dessert, just to see if she would do it a third time. She did.

* * *

"Hey!" Penny's face lit up as she opened the door to see Leonard. The remainder of the summer vacation period had come and gone, and still they had been unable to progress from their friendship, though they had gotten a lot closer - both of them making shy attempts at spending time alone together and getting involved with what the other was doing. His current presence at her apartment had already lightened the nerves she had been feeling all morning.

"Hey, Penny. I just wanted to wish you luck on your first day." Leonard smiled. "I got you a present." He held out a small gift bag to her, smiling nervously.

"Aww, thank you!" Penny took the bag from him and pulled out a pink Filofax; one she had had her eye on whilst online shopping but never purchased due to it's price: she'd simply not been able to justify it knowing she could buy a less fancy but far cheaper one instead, considering her general lack of organization. She grinned excitedly as she flicked through the pages, seeing the academic theme throughout. "Oh my God! This is amazing, thank you _so _much. It's perfect."

"Good. I'm glad." Leonard breathed a small sigh of relief. "I was worried you might have already gotten yourself one or you didn't want this one."

"No, I've wanted it for ages but... thank you, Leonard." Penny said again, before pulling him into a hug. When she pulled away, she looked at it again. "How did you know?"

"That time when you used my laptop to do some shopping online you left the tab open on your Amazon wish list and it was right at the top." Leonard shrugged. "I logged out right afterwards but I always remembered it and I thought you might like it now that you're officially starting your Ph.D."

"God, you're the best. This is so nice. Thank you." Penny couldn't stop smiling.

"I'm glad you like it. Do you want a ride to the university, by the way? I'm taking Sheldon but you can just put headphones in or something so you don't have to listen to him."

"Really? That would be great! Then I don't have to worry completely about being on my own on my first day! When are you leaving?"

"Ten minutes. Or, you know, whenever, Sheldon comes out of that door moaning that it's time to leave if we want to avoid being late."

"Oh, yeah, that would really be great. Again, thank you. You wanna come in?"

"Well it's better than going back there and listening to Sheldon, so sure." Leonard followed her into the apartment, taking a seat on her couch.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"And you have to be honest."

"Okay?"

"How do I look?"

Leonard blinked for a moment. This was probably one of the only times he _hadn't _been entirely focused on how she looked. He took in her outfit which was different than usual; more school themed with a dark skirt and pink button-up blouse and dark cardigan to match with black pumps. She was over-compensating for the whole idea of being academic, but he didn't blame her. She had tied her hair up into a ponytail, a few loose strands framing her face. Her hands curled nervously over the edges of her cardigan as she awaited his response, and he looked up at her and smiled. "You look great."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay. Good." Penny ran her hands down her sides. "I just want to make a good first impression with my mentor, you know."

"You will, don't worry." Leonard assured her.

Flopping down next to Leonard on the couch, Penny sighed. "You know, all your friends told me there's gonna be so much work and it's gonna be so tough, but I wasn't nervous about any of that until this morning."

"Don't worry about it; you're smart enough for this and if you ever need help, I'm right there for you. And you know three people with doctorates already who can help you - though I wouldn't recommend asking Sheldon."

"Yeah." Penny nodded slowly.

"And hey, you're not the only nervous person in this room. I have an audition tomorrow." Leonard said: he'd been keeping this information to himself for almost two weeks now. He hadn't wanted to take away from Penny's upcoming start to her doctoral studies, but felt now perhaps she would take some comfort in knowing she wasn't the only one feeling the way she was. Besides, it was nice to get it off his chest. Perhaps he could even run lines with her; he was certain that would go better than with Sheldon.

"Really? Tomorrow? Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me before? What's it for? Are you prepared?" Penny couldn't shut up; all of a sudden she was excited beyond belief, gripping his arm tightly. "Do you need me to run lines? Shall I come to the audition with you for like, moral support?"

"You don't have to come... nobody brings anybody with them anyway. And I don't want you to miss any classes. But yeah, running lines would be helpful - although you're busy with this, so-"

"No, here, look, tonight after dinner I'll come over and you can show me your audition piece and ooh, I can pick out an outfit for you!"

Smiling, Leonard nodded. "Okay. That sounds nice."

"How about I wait in the car for you at the audition? I only have a class in the morning tomorrow so I'm free for the rest of the day. Then you're not on your own the whole time there and back. I can use the waiting time to do research." Penny suggested.

"If you want to." Leonard shrugged, though his insides were yelling _yes please_!

"Of course I do." Penny assured him, patting his hand.

Their conversation was halted when Sheldon appeared in the doorway of Penny's apartment. "Leonard, let's go."

"Okay. Penny's coming with us too." Leonard said as he stood up.

Giving Penny a skeptical look, Sheldon folded his arms. "Fine. But I still get shotgun."

* * *

Having agreed to meet Bernadette for lunch and catch each other up on their first days, Penny waited for her friend in the canteen. It was quite busy, so she had sat at the end of a table occupied by a brown-haired girl who was on her own. Penny figured at least if Bernadette didn't show up, she could keep this girl company since she didn't appear to be waiting for anybody. She had seen her earlier on her tour of the Physics department, but Penny couldn't remember who she was or what she did - everything was already so confusing. When they were both still alone five minutes later, Penny moved over a seat.

"Are you waiting for somebody?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

"Oh. I'm waiting for my friend, but she's late. I'm Penny." She extended her hand over the table.

"Amy Farrah Fowler." Amy shook Penny's hand warily.

"What do you do here? I think I saw you earlier."

"I'm a theoretical physicist here at the university."

"Oh wow, that's so cool!" Penny grinned. "I'm a Ph.D. student here, but I'm focusing more on experimental physics."

"Yes, you do look like the type of girl who enjoys playing with big lasers." Amy observed. "Though I find it difficult to believe you are studying for a Ph.D."

"I know, I get that a lot. But hey - girls can be scientists too, right?" Penny held her hand up for a high five that wasn't reciprocated. "O-kay, well..." She put her hand back down awkwardly and looked around, finally spotting Bernadette. "Oh, there she is!"

Penny introduced Bernadette to Amy, and then the two friends told each other about how their days had gone so far. Ten minutes later, Penny spotted four familiar faces and instantly waved them over. She'd chosen not to visit Leonard's office just yet, not wanting to seem too eager on her first day and make it more casual. Besides, she wasn't even sure how to get to the IT department.

"Hey guys!" Penny grinned as Leonard led them over, Sheldon at the back looking annoyed and she knew she had probably disrupted the timeframe he set himself for his lunch break.

"Hey," Leonard grinned. "How's your first day going?"

"Great! Confusing, but great!" Penny laughed. "This is my friend Bernadette, by the way, she works with me at the Cheesecake Factory - well, you've probably seen her - and she's a student here too." She heard somebody clear their throat and realized it was Amy. "Oh, and that's Amy Farrah Fowler, who is a theoretical physicist here."

"It's nice to meet you both." Leonard smiled politely.

Bernadette kicked Penny hard under the table and she had to refrain from jumping and rolling her eyes. Sighing, she looked at her friend and then back at the guys. "You guys want to join us?"

Sheldon was about to protest, but Leonard quickly jumped in with "sure!" and they all took seats at the table. Leonard sat next to Penny with Sheldon on the other side of him. To Bernadette's delight, Howard sat beside her. With Amy in the seat on the other side of Howard, Raj sighed and grabbed an unused chair from another table to sit at the end.

"So what do you guys all do here?" Bernadette asked.

"Well, Leonard's actually an actor, but he works here at the IT department." Penny explained. "Sheldon is an astrophysicist, Raj is in neurobiology and Howard is in microbiology."

"Staff or students?"

"Staff, of course." Sheldon said, as though the idea of being a student was preposterous.

"And what do you study?" Howard asked.

"I'm doing my Masters in Engineering."

"I'm sorry." Howard half-choked on his juice. "_You're _studying Engineering?"

"Yup." Bernadette squinted at him, suddenly liking him a lot less. "Masters."

"In Engineering."

"Yes."

"That's... surprising."

Folding her arms, Bernadette scowled. "What, girls can't be engineers? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying!" Howard said quickly. "Just..."

"Just _what_?"

"Just... I didn't expect you to be studying... that."

"Howard," Sheldon interjected, "I have recently learned that you should not judge a female by her choice of academia to her face or she will get _very _angry."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Seriously guys, why is it so hard to believe that girls can study this stuff too and be good at it?"

"Well, a Masters is _hardly _a Ph.D." Sheldon scoffed.

"Sheldon!" Leonard warned, in half a mind to slap him.

"Though I suppose it is easier to believe Bernadette is studying for a Masters in Engineering than it is to believe Penny is studying for her Ph.D. in Physics." Sheldon concluded, ignoring Leonard's warning.

"Oh yeah? What about Amy?" Penny gestured a hand over to Amy, who was quietly eating her sandwich.

"What about her?" Sheldon asked.

"She's a theoretical physicist. Do you find _that _hard to believe?"

"Well, she doesn't look like you or Bernadette." Howard observed. "She's not as-"

"What?" Bernadette cut in sharply.

"It's okay." Amy said, glancing over at the group. "I'm exactly what people expect of a girl scientist. I'm not hot, I don't have any friends and my mother still buys my clothes."

"Nobody said you're not hot. Or any of that stuff." Bernadette said, trying to save the conversation.

"No, but he implied it. Don't worry, people have told me to my face. My mother says it's what's in my brain that matters, not what's on the outside." Amy shrugged.

"That is a remarkable approach to life." Sheldon said, slightly in awe.

"I'm not sure remarkable is the word I'd use..." Howard mumbled.

"It's truly fascinating how men thinks girls can't be anything more than what they appear to be on the outside." Amy stated as she packed her sandwich back into her lunch box. "I will leave you all to it. I was okay with two people on my table, but this is far too many and I am not comfortable with such a large number of strangers surrounding me while I eat."

* * *

"Anybody home?" Penny grinned as she cracked open the door to Leonard's office; a tiny room off from the main lobby area of the IT department.

"Hey! Take a seat." Leonard pointed to the two chairs at his desk. "How was your first day, then?"

"It was good, I think. Nobody hates me, and I made a lot of notes, so it's a good start." Penny said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "How was your day?"

"I had quite a few students having issues connecting to the campus WiFi or logging in to their accounts, but that always happens. It'll be the same for a few weeks then things will die down." Leonard shrugged.

"Yeah, you'll have to guide me through that campus account thingy. It's so complicated looking." Penny lied; she'd navigated it just fine on her own. "But we can do that another day, you have your audition tomorrow so we need to focus on that."

"I can guide you through the campus account now if you'd like." Leonard offered.

"Oh, no, that's okay." Penny said quickly. She'd have to log out and delete the site history from her browser before she could get him to help her out. "Like I said, we need to focus on your audition. I came by to make sure I could find your office and see when you'd be heading home."

"I've still to finish up this system update." Leonard sighed. "It's not gonna be too long but I'll be at least another half hour."

"That's okay! I don't mind waiting for you to finish; I can get started on this work in that time."

"You sure?"

"Yeah! I'll just text Bernadette, she was gonna drop me home after her class finishes in ten minutes but now she won't have to." Penny grinned, pulling out her phone.

The next forty-seven minutes were spent in silence as the two of them worked, filled with pauses where they'd smile at each other or thoughtful hums. And although it wasn't the most exciting time they'd shared together, Penny felt it to be an incredibly productive way to work.

* * *

"How did your audition go?" Penny asked, closing her laptop as Leonard got back into the car.

"It was alright." Leonard shrugged. Penny raised her brows at him and he sighed. "The actual audition was fine. It went pretty well. But judging by all the other guys who were auditioning, I don't think I'm... right for the part."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Penny patted his leg sympathetically. "But hey, at least you were the best dressed there - right?"

That made him smile; he had to admit, he _did _feel much more confident in the outfit Penny had picked out for him. He definitely looked better than some of the people in there, even if they had looked physically better than him. "I would have won Best Dressed for sure."


	6. 5 Schrödinger

At the end of the week, Penny and Bernadette went out with a few of the friends they had made on their respective courses to celebrate completing their first week at Caltech. Bernadette was still annoyed about Howard and freely bitched about his judgmental comments while they drank, though the were often started with 'just because he's cute'. However Bernadette also wasted no time informing the whole group of Penny's not-so-subtle crush on Leonard after one of Penny's course mates had asked about the "little glasses guy" she was always with. It was this culmination of questioning and teasing and her own annoyance with not managing to get anywhere further with Leonard that got Penny back into her old self when it came to flirting while drunk.

Of course, this didn't come without it's consequences.

* * *

"Oh my _God_." Bernadette laughed, throwing her head back as she slapped Penny's phone onto her thigh.

"Don't laugh! It's embarrassing!" Penny snatched her phone back, instantly regretting showing Bernadette the messages she had sent Leonard the night before.

"It's hilarious! I can't believe you said that to him!" Bernadette squealed, stamping her feet up and down. "Oh my God, I keep thinking about it! _I could sure use YOUR PHD right about now_! Oh my God it's still funny! I can't _believe _you sent him that!"

"Neither can I! Who even _says _that? God, I was doing so well-"

"At what? _Not _getting together with Leonard?" Bernadette smirked, wiping tears from her eyes.

Scowling, Penny shoved her phone into her apron. "Shut up."

"Okay, so you came across... pretty slutty and... kinda desperate. Which, lets face it, you are. But you just have to do some damage control; explain that you were _really _drunk, ask if you can both forget about it and go back to your usual mutual failed attempts to hit on each other."

"Mutual?" Penny raised a brow.

"Well you're not the only one trying to get the other one to notice them and failing spectacularly at doing so."

"Huh." Penny grinned; so she _was _right in thinking that Leonard was kinda-sorta flirting with her. This definitely improved the situation somewhat. "You know, maybe I should throw a Halloween party. Then I can invite the guys and... see how things go."

"You think throwing a party is gonna solve the situation?"

"Well after last night, it couldn't make it _worse_."

"Fair point. Things really couldn't be going worse for you right now."

"Plus it gives you a chance to get to know Howard a little better."

"He became a _lot _less attractive when I realized he's a sexist pig." Bernadette folded her arms stubbornly.

"Look, he was just a little surprised that you were an Engineer - but hey, most people are. And he obviously doesn't get a lot of girls - well, decent ones at least - so maybe he just doesn't know how to act around them. Just give him a chance, you thought he was cute, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Look, I'll suggest to Leonard that we all have lunch together in the cafeteria on Monday and I'll invite them to the party. It can be a costume party - they _love _costumes. And you can spread the word to all the Masters students, I'll spread the word to the doctoral students and they can invite their friends and then it looks all... casual and stuff."

"Wow, you're really putting a lot of thought into this."

"It's a party, of course I'm putting a lot of thought into it. Just because I'm getting my Ph.D. doesn't mean I'm losing my party-throwing reputation." Penny pointed out. She stood up, straightening her uniform. "I think I'm gonna dress up as a cat."

"Why a cat?"

"Because I have this cute black crop top I haven't worn yet and cats are cute."

"So basically this costume party is an excuse for you to be slutty."

"I'm not _being _slutty. Just... wearing fewer clothes."

"Have you ever considered that perhaps your problem is that you revert to all this stuff rather than _actually _trying to form a relationship out of just... you know, talking to him and going to dinner and taking it slow?"

Penny glared at Bernadette for a moment. "Oh shut up."

"This whole party idea is pretty ridiculous. You're just gonna get drunk and look stupid. _Again_. And then you're gonna regret it."

"That's not what's gonna happen!"

"I'm telling you, it is."

"You know what? I'm gonna prove you wrong. I'm not going to be like that at the party. You'll see."

"Yeah, yeah. And you're going to end the party by making out with Leonard."

"Hey, that _could _actually happen!"

* * *

Chewing anxiously on her lip, Penny knocked on the door to 4A. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as she waited, and after a few seconds Leonard opened it.

"Oh, hey Penny." Leonard smiled. All day he'd been trying to work out what he would say when he saw her and trying to figure out how to behave when a woman sends you photos practically nude and jokes about a 'PHD' - he had come up with nothing. It simply wasn't his forte.

"Hey." Penny smiled nervously. "Umm, can we talk? In private?" She added the last part after seeing the guys in the apartment, heads craned so they could see and hear her.

"Sure." Leonard nodded, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind them. "We should probably go to your place."

"What?"

"Oh, God, no, I meant - I meant because Howard will probably have his ear pressed to the door and... yeah." Leonard sighed. Why did he always have to make an ass of himself? "Never mind."

"No you're right, that's probably a good idea." Penny agreed, opening her door and letting him in, shutting the door behind him. She looked around her apartment, licking her lips nervously. Why did she always leave it in such a mess? She gestured to the couch and they both sat down. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for last night."

"Oh... you don't have to."

"No, it was... I was _really _drunk. I'm sorry. It was _really _inappropriate. I mean, it was kinda funny, but... also a little embarrassing." Penny admitted. "That's not the kind of thing I would say to a guy that I..." Sighing, she shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's alright. You were drunk. I would be more concerned if that's what you texted when you were sober."

Laughing, Penny nodded. "Yeah, that would be quite some character, huh?"

"It really would." Leonard said, wondering if he should tell her about the photos she had sent via Snapchat around the same time as the texts. It must have shown on his face, because her expression turned curious.

"I remember sending you some Snapchats when I was at the club..." Penny said slowly, shuffling away slightly as the guilty look on his face grew. "Did I... send you anything... afterwards?"

"Umm... well." He cleared his throat and a look of dread fell across her face. This was easily the most awkward situation he'd ever been in. The first time he gets a somewhat sexy photo from a girl and it's because she's drunk and he has to then _tell _her about it. He wished her couch would just swallow him up whole. Still, he didn't want to lie to her. "There were some of you in a taxi with your friends. And then there were two later where you... uh..."

"What?" Penny asked cautiously. "Tell me." She said decisively.

"Alright." Leonard nodded; she wanted to know, he might as well tell her. He'd feel bad if he lied to her or didn't tell her at all. "Well, in the first one you were in front your mirror in your underwear."

"Oh God." Penny groaned. It hadn't been the most conservative underwear, just about covering what it had to so that it wouldn't be seen beneath the dress.

"And, uh, in the second one you were naked-"

"Oh _God_!"

"-But you were lying on your front in bed so I couldn't see anything."

"_Oh God_." Penny threw her head into her hands.

"There were no captions on these ones, if that helps." Leonard said awkwardly.

Suddenly, Penny looked up at him. "What do you mean _on these ones_?"

"Well... the ones you sent earlier had some... interesting captions."

"Like..."

"Just that you could spell my surname drunk. And one that said 'Penny, Ph.D.' followed by 'hot' with a _lot _of question marks." Leonard said the last part quickly to try spare them as much awkwardness as possible.

"Wow." Penny stood up and began pacing. All that she could ask herself was _why? _repeatedly with various different follow-on questions that she didn't want to venture to. "So, I guess we both had a fun night."

"It was certainly interesting." Leonard said, wishing she would just stay still. It was making him nervous. People pacing usually meant they were anxious, and he never knew how to deal with that.

Running a hand through her hair, Penny half-giggled and half-sighed. _Why _had she done that? She'd just made things ten times more difficult for them. If it were any other guy, she wouldn't care so much. Make a few jokes and brush it all off. But this was Leonard - Leonard who she _liked_, Leonard who she wanted to view her as who she was and not just how easy she was when she was drunk. "Look, Leonard, I'm really sorry. I don't wanna ruin whatever this is between us so could we just forget about it please?"

When he looked up at her, he didn't expect her to look so genuinely troubled over the situation. He almost wanted to ask her what she meant by 'whatever this is between us' but she looked upset enough already, so he decided not to go any further. "Of course. Don't worry." He gave her a small smile as he stood up. "I should get back and let you change out of your uniform."

"Right, sure." Penny nodded, walking him to the door. On a spur of the moment decision, she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Leonard."

Slightly stunned, he blinked. "Sure. Any time."

As he left her apartment, he mentally kicked himself. _Any time_? Who even said that? Him, apparently. That wasn't the right thing to say after the conversation they'd just had. And what did she mean by the whole 'whatever this is between us'? _Was _there something between them? Did she _know _he liked her? And dare he think it - did she like _him_? He paused just outside his apartment door, half wanting to go back to her place and yell "what the hell does that mean?" but also knowing that he really should just leave it. The former would answer all his questions and the latter would leave him overthinking things for the foreseeable future. Sighing, he shook his head. If she liked him, why didn't she say or do anything? He knew it was hypocritical to think that, considering he had done very little to show that he liked her. But then again - if she thought there was _something _between them, then perhaps he was doing a better job than he thought. Not much better, since she had to apologize for sending almost naked photos while drunk rather than him being her boyfriend and sending them sober and fully naked, but still - better. Their feelings weren't full in the dark. But was it really any better having them lurking in the shadows?

* * *

"Come in."

Penny stepped into the office of Amy Farrah Fowler nervously. "Hi, Amy. I don't know if you remember me - I'm Penny."

"I remember you." Amy nodded. "How can I help you?"

"I'm having a Halloween party this weekend and my place. It's like a mixer, everyone's invited. Would you like to come? The theme is costumes."

Although Amy wanted to point out that costumes weren't _technically _a theme and she hated parties because they never ended well for her, the excitement of being invited to a party was overwhelming. Trying to play it cool, she cleared her throat. "Can you send me an email with the time and address?"

"Of course! I have to go, I'll let you get on with your work. But I'll see you at the party, right?"

"Yes. I will do my best to attend."

* * *

Penny grinned as she took a moment to look around her apartment. Everybody was enjoying themselves - and she hadn't even drunk _that _much punch. The punch was strong, so she was ever so slightly beyond tipsy, but not to the point where she would be hungover or start forgetting things. Bernadette was on the couch talking to Howard, while Raj was talking animatedly with Sheldon and Leonard. Amy was sat at the kitchen island talking to a girl Penny attended tutorials with on a Tuesday. All her work friends were enjoying themselves as much as all the people from the university, something that she had been a little anxious about.

She re-joined a group of her friends dancing by the stereo where she had been earlier as her favorite song came on, though she kept glancing around the room to keep an eye on Leonard and Bernadette - she wanted the gossip from her too, after all - but mostly Leonard. After a few songs she saw him getting up to get some punch out of the corner of her eye and quickly excused herself, squeezing through all the people in her apartment.

"Hey you," she smiled as she joined him, holding out her empty cup so he could fill it for her. "You enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, I am. It's great." Leonard nodded. Now that they were having a one-on-one conversation he found himself desperately wishing he wasn't dressed as a Hobbit. He'd made a big deal about telling Sheldon not to embarrass him earlier, and it was only just occurring to him that being a Hobbit wasn't exactly the coolest thing in the world either. "Are you?"

"Uh-huh." Penny nodded. "It's so cool to see everyone dressed up!"

"It is - though I think a lot of the people from your work are confused by Sheldon's costume."

"Yeah, waiters don't really know what the Doppler Effect is." Penny giggled.

"To be honest I only know because Sheldon told me. At least yours is easy to guess - a cat."

Putting her cup down and her hands on her hips, Penny pouted at him. "A sexy cat though, right?"

Leonard almost spat out his sip of punch. He swallowed it quickly and coughed slightly. "Right."

Satisfied, Penny grinned. "Good. How're you finding the punch?"

"It's a little strong, but it's nice."

"It's my sisters recipe. I like to make sure everyone is enjoying the party, so the punch has to be strong." Penny joked.

"Well as long as you don't have too much or you'll end up sending crazy texts like you did last time." Leonard laughed, the alcohol giving his confidence a slight boost.

"Hey! I thought we agreed we were gonna forget about that?"

"Kinda hard to forget about." Leonard smirked. Apparently this cup of punch was what he really needed to get his confidence going.

Biting her lip, Penny watched as he took another long sip. Making up her mind, she placed a hand on his arm. "Can I talk to you? Somewhere less... more private?"

"Huh?" Leonard looked at her blankly. Talking in private didn't often lead to good things in his experience, and girls _never _wanted to talk to him in private unless it was to ask for a favor in setting them up with some actor. But then he remembered Penny's words 'whatever this is between us' and wondered if it was about _that_. "O-okay. Umm, where?"

"Well... if we go in my bedroom, people are gonna talk. And if we go over to your apartment, people are still gonna speculate." Penny looked around. "So we may as well go over to your place. We don't have to walk straight through a group of people then."

"Yeah. And the hallway gives us some distance from the party." Leonard added awkwardly. She gave him a funny look and he shrugged before following her out and over to his own apartment. "It's unlocked." He said as she reached the door. She shut the door behind him and he braced himself, clasping his hands together. "So..."

Walking to the couch, Penny stopped and turned back around to face Leonard deciding that if she sat down, he would sit down too and it would make her nervous. Standing seemed more casual and less confined. She took a deep breath as she looked at him, suddenly wishing her outfit wasn't a cat and something more... dressed up. Seriously, what was she thinking? She'd gone on to Bernadette about not wanting to come off as her old slutty self, and yet her costume did exactly that: show off as much as her body as possible with clothes on. _Good move, Penny. Real smart. _

"Here's the thing-"

"Wait, before you start, is this gonna be about that thing you said about something between us? Is it gonna be bad?" Leonard asked, needing to know how prepared he should be.

And it was that question and the alcohol from the punch flowing through her system that made Penny finally snap.

"Bad? You think this is going to be _bad_? Leonard, I have been trying like _crazy _to get your attention! Most guys _throw _themselves at the smart blonde girl and you never even got the hint to ask for my number that first time we met at the Cheesecake Factory. And it's... it's so nice and refreshing but also so _frustrating_ because the more I get to know you, the harder I try. And that scares the hell out of me because I'm never like that around guys, and yet here I am. So no, Leonard, this isn't bad and yes, it is about what I said." Penny paused, realizing that perhaps practically shouting at him wasn't the most convincing way to put her point across. Taking a calming breath, she looked at him steadily. "I want for us to be more than friends."

"Oh." All he could do was stare at her. Okay, _that _he hadn't been prepared for. He wasn't sure how to respond and the alcohol from earlier wasn't really helping. Knowing that she liked him - actually _liked _him! - wasn't helping him think straight either. Slightly overwhelmed, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'd like that too." What was he supposed to do now? Kiss her? He wanted to apologize but he thought that would probably kill the mood, but he was too scared to just go for it and kiss her.

"Okay. Good." Penny bit her lip nervously, feeling slightly awkward and vulnerable, not to mention exposed. She was _seriously _regretting her costume choice now.

"So... maybe we could go out for dinner tomorrow night?" Leonard shrugged a shoulder to his ear, hoping that was the right thing to say. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his body the way it was beating so hard.

"Yeah." Penny smiled. "That would be nice."

"And just so you know, I did notice. I was just never sure where to go from there." Leonard admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Well... do you know where to go from here?" Penny asked hopefully.

_Ah_. So he _was _supposed to kiss her!

They looked awkwardly at each other as though to confirm that he did indeed know what came next, and suddenly, just like that they were kissing.

All he'd had to do was place his lips on hers and she was responding eagerly, arms around his neck and body pressing into his. His hands held her back and waist, enjoying the warmth of her skin. He loved how she kissed so passionately, as though she'd been waiting her whole life for this moment. Her fingers threaded through the curls on the back of his head while his fingers gently stroked the bare skin on her back. Shuddering in pleasure, she released a small moan before slipping her tongue into his mouth. He groaned in response and her heart fluttered.

"Leonard, I-" Sheldon's eyes went wide at the sight that greeted him as he opened the door of his apartment. "Oh. Sorry." He quickly slammed the door to 4A shut again.

"Man. That cat is definitely alive." Penny mumbled with a contented sigh once their lips had disconnected, eyes still closed.

"What?"

Grinning, she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Schrödinger's cat."

"Who?"

"I think your roommate can explain." Penny giggled, running her hands down Leonard's chest. "He probably wants to come back now."

"The cat?"

"No." Penny giggled. "Sheldon."

"Probably." Leonard sighed, cursing Sheldon's existence. And who the hell was this cat? Who was the owner? Did he _know _them?

"Guess I should get back to my party." Penny stepped toward the door, holding out her hand. "You coming?"

"No... if it's okay with you, I think I'll stay here. You know, parties aren't really my thing. I quite like the party ending this way."

"Okay." Penny said softly, still smiling. She opened the door and turned back to him. "Thank you, Leonard." Leaning in, she planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As she turned around, she bumped straight into Bernadette who was grinning from ear to ear. "Oo-ooh!"

"Oh shut up." Penny said, through an equally big grin. She made her way through her party, ignoring everybody on her way, and into her bedroom, closing the door. "_Finally_!" She squealed, doing a little victory dance on her way to the bathroom.

Back in 4A, Leonard fist-pumped the air as he jumped up victoriously. "That is how we _roll _in the shire!" He announced to the room, making his way down the hallway and to his bedroom with a spring in his step.


	7. 6 Set Up

"Come in." Amy called, curious. Less than seven days and she had a second visitor knocking on her door! She was slightly surprised to see who it was - Sheldon Cooper. They had met twice, but she had no idea why that called him to her office.

"Hello." Sheldon said awkwardly, clutching his papers to his chest protectively.

"How can I help you?"

"Umm." Sheldon looked down at the papers in his hands. After hesitating for a moment, he held them out to her. The idea of asking for assistance and sharing his work was not something he was fond of - but she was the best one for the job. "I have a theory that I require the assistance of a theoretical physicist on and wanted to know if you would be interested in reading over the work so far. Should that interest you, it would be of great help if we could collaborate on this project."

"Alright. Leave it in the 'In-Tray' over there by the door; I'll take a look at it later." Amy gestured to the specified tray dismissively.

"Okay. Thank you." Sheldon placed the papers into the tray, pausing in the doorway. "How well do you know Penny?"

"Not very well. Why?" Amy raised a brow; was she about to engage in gossip?

"I'm in a bit of an awkward situation. She and Leonard went on a date."

"Why does that put _you _in an awkward situation?"

"Let me give you a timeline of events. Saturday, she has her party and I walk in on them kissing in _my _apartment. Sunday, Leonard spends a suspiciously lengthy amount of time in the bathroom before meeting her for dinner. He arrives home in the late hours, alone. This morning, Monday, the carpool that consists of Leonard driving, with Penny and I as passengers, was completely silent."

"Okay..."

"What does that mean? Did it go badly? Should I _ask_? Do you know anything?"

"Umm... well, I don't think it went _badly_. I saw the two of them talking earlier by the coffee machine."

"Goodness gracious, it's not even midday and they're already having more coffee." Sheldon shook his head. "Well, I suppose I should ask Leonard how it went."

"Social protocol does dictate that." Amy agreed.

"How unfortunate. What's more unfortunate is that I didn't get to play a car game this morning." Sheldon sighed. "Oh well. I have to get back to work."

"Okay. I'll send you an email regarding the work proposal."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Dude, did you hear that?" Raj asked in a whisper as he and Howard rushed away from Amy's office.

"What? That Leonard and Penny went on a date? Of course I heard that!"

"No! Well, yes, that too, but we'll get back to that."

"Then what?"

"Amy and Sheldon. They're so perfect for each other! We should totally set them up!"

"Set them up? Are you crazy? Amy is... Amy and Sheldon is... Sheldon. You don't _set up _people like that."

"Perhaps not - but _we _totally could." Raj grinned, slowing down as they reached a safe enough distance from Amy's office to not be caught and accused of eavesdropping. "Think of it as our own joint experiment."

"Hmm." Howard frowned in thought. "An interesting proposal."

"They're going to be working together on this theory of his - we already have a head start!"

"She hasn't even read his proposal or said yes yet."

"Ah, enter _us_. We do a bit of persuading at lunch, see what she's thinking... maybe even drop a few hints that there's a _reason _Sheldon picked her of all theoretical physicists to work with." Raj wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ooh. Interesting. This could work! Okay, I'm in!" Howard high-fived his friend excitedly.

"Speaking of being in... what happened with you and Bernadette after the party?"

"Oh, nothing." Howard sighed. "I just made sure she got in her cab okay and told her I'd call."

"And have you?"

"Not yet, hence why I suggested this morning that today for lunch we go eat off campus. I don't want to bump into her and make things awkward. I've gotta be cool about it, not look like I'm rushing this, you know?"

"Yes, eating off campus is totally not suspicious when you eat in the same cafeteria every day." Raj rolled his eyes. "When are you gonna call her?"

"Maybe tonight. I think that's enough time after the party for it to seem casual and not too keen."

"I'm guessing she's forgiven you for that whole girl-engineer thing?"

"Mostly... I still have to be careful about what I say. But hey, she's not the first girl to do something like that. At least she didn't punch me like Leslie Winkle did."

"I can't believe you didn't learn from that." Raj shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

"Hey stranger," Penny bit her lip as she poked her head round Leonard's office door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Leonard smiled nervously. Having only been on a less-than-handful of dates, he had no idea how to behave on the day after the date. "How's your day going?"

"Good, I taught my first class today!" Penny flopped down into the seat at Leonard's desk. "Man, I was so nervous. Having to assist one class a week was already quite scary but teaching on my own! God."

"How did it go?"

"Not too bad, I guess. But these guys kept ogling at me so I'm gonna have to start wearing like, really bad outfits to make them stop." Penny rolled her eyes. "How about you? Any exciting computer problems?"

"Not really, but this guy did come in saying he couldn't log in to anything before he realized that he'd just been entering the wrong password."

"Wow." Penny laughed. "Smart kid, huh?"

"Totally."

Silence fell upon them for a moment, almost awkward, before Penny decided to break it. "Dinner last night was nice."

"It was." Leonard agreed quickly. It was the best dinner he'd _ever _had, and the company was the reason why. The drive around the empty streets of Pasadena and the goodbye kiss between their apartments had been nice too - _more _than nice. Heart racing, he decided to just go for it - after all, what did he have to lose? She would either say yes or no, and if she said no... they'd cross that bridge if they reached it. "We should do it again some time."

"We should." Penny agreed, blushing slightly.

_Thank God_. Leonard breathed a sigh of relief, internally doing a happy dance. She wanted to go on another date! With _him_! What were the chances of that? "Awesome." He said through a dry throat, instantly wishing he'd said something better than that.

Giggling gently, Penny nodded. "Awesome indeed."

Not wanting to stay on the subject too long, he searched his mind for something to say next and quickly remembered the news he had received earlier that day. "I got an audition for this commercial."

"That's amazing!" Penny's eyes lit up and she leaned forward in her chair. "When is it? Does that mean I get to take you shopping?"

"It's on Thursday. I guess it does."

"Yay! Oh my God, this is so exciting. Trust me, you are going to look _so _much better than anyone else who auditions for that commercial." Penny clapped her hands together. "When do you wanna go?"

"Well we still have a few days-"

"We should go tomorrow! You're coming to the restaurant for dinner with your friends, it can be like a treat day for you!"

"Sheldon will be there, that's hardly a treat." Leonard chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll spit in his hamburger or something." Penny grinned. "You wanna run your lines with me?"

"Actually for this commercial they're going to give us the material when we get there, so I can't really practice for it." Leonard said; it was this that made him nervous. He felt much more confident when he knew the material in advance.

It must have shown on his face that this made him nervous because Penny instantly said, "Well, just as well we're going shopping then - you felt better just by me helping you pick your outfit last time, imagine how great you'll feel with a brand new outfit!"

"You're really excited about this, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! It's shopping!" Penny clapped her hands together before pulling out her Filofax. Ever since Leonard had given it to her, she'd been writing everything into it. Turning to the current week, she pouted her lips together. "Okay, so I'm free in the morning then I have a Math class to assist in the afternoon, and after that I've got a lab class... if you can be done by three thirty tomorrow then we could go straight from here?"

He found it adorable how seriously Penny was taking this. To him it was just clothes, but to her it was evidently something she was very passionate about. And he'd seen her closet; clothes were some form of religion to her by the looks of it. "Yeah, I could definitely be done by then."

"Great!" Penny pulled the pen out from it's holder and scribbled in 'shopping' in capital letters, before closing her Filofax and placing it back in her bag. "It's officially in pen now, so you can't change your mind."

"I'll be ready to leave at half three tomorrow afternoon." Leonard confirmed. Truth was, no matter how much he hated the planned activity, if Penny wanted to do it then he was never going to refuse.

"I'm so excited!" Penny grinned, clapping her hands together. "Okay, I just came to see how your day was going. I should leave for work soon otherwise I won't have time to eat something before my shift starts. I spent my lunch hour in the lab, _totally _forgot until after I finished up in there that I agreed to work today." Sighing, she stood up, swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"You should definitely go get some food then." Leonard nodded, getting up too to walk her the incredibly short distance to the office door. "Do you need a ride to work?"

"It's okay, I'll get the bus over."

"Want a ride home from work when you're done?"

"Ooh. That would be good."

"Text me when you're done then and I'll come and get you."

"I finish at seven so we could always get some, uh, dinner together?" Penny asked hopefully. It was still slightly nerve-wracking, this sort-of-dating thing - especially since she actually liked the guy and even having dinner together mattered, not what happened afterwards. Though God knows she was very interested in things that could happen after dinner. But still - being with Leonard was about more than just that. "If you want to?"

"S-sure, that sounds great." Leonard nodded quickly, gulping. Wow, she _really _wanted to go out with him. That first date hadn't been a joke. She hadn't even hinted that she wanted to be introduced to some actor or the other.

"Awesome." Penny bit her lip. They were silent for a moment, just staring at each other. Just as Leonard cleared his throat awkwardly, something in Penny's mind snapped, yelling at her to _get the hell over yourself and kiss him! _\- and that's exactly what she did. Spur-of-the-moment, she took a tiny step forward and pressed her lips to his, heart thumping so hard she was convinced he could feel it even through all the layers of clothing between her chest and his.

It took him a few seconds to really focus on what was happening, but when he did he raised his brows and mentally kicked himself for not responding to her kiss quicker. Panicking that she might pull away too soon, he put his hands on her waist and tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Apparently that was the right move because she slid her hands up to his shoulders and slipped her tongue into his mouth. Now _that _he hadn't expected. If he'd known she was going to kiss him like this he wouldn't have had garlic bread with his lunch. Or at least had some gum afterwards. Still, she wasn't pulling away... the garlic bread hadn't been _that _garlic-y after all. More like cardboard. _Yeah, that's what you want to focus on right now: garlic bread_. Leonard quickly refocused his mind; he really had to learn not to overthink while kissing.

A buzzing in Penny's jacket pocket disturbed the moment, and she slowly pulled away before her mind registered the reason they had stopped. Clearing her throat, she grabbed her phone out and answered the call. Leonard stepped back, suddenly finding his jacket sleeves very interesting.

"Hey, Bernadette. No I'm still on campus... yes I know. Really? Okay, I'll be right out." Hanging up, Penny looked at Leonard. "Not everyone from Bernadette's project group turned up so they're leaving now... she said she'll drop me off at work. So... I should actually leave this time."

"Right, sure," Leonard chuckled. "I don't want to make you late."

Fuelled by their recent kiss and regaining her confidence, Penny bit her lip. "I wouldn't mind if you were the reason I was late to work."

* * *

"So... _someone _missed lunch." Bernadette smirked smugly as Penny got into her car.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was in the lab." Penny said, fiddling around to get her seatbelt done while Bernadette got the car going.

"So are you purposefully avoiding me or were you genuinely getting stuff done in the lab? Because you still haven't told me all about what happened with you and Leonard last night."

"How do you know we went out last night?" Penny raised a brow. She hadn't told anybody that they'd gone on a date; the only person to her knowledge who knew was Sheldon.

"Through the nerd-vine of course. Sheldon lives with Leonard, so naturally when Howard asked Sheldon to expand on 'they kissed' he found out and then Howard told me."

"Ah, so I guess things are going well with Howard?"

"We're not talking about that right now, we're talking about you and Leonard."

"Okay, okay. We kissed. We went out last night and we kissed some more. It was a little awkward this morning in the car but that's mostly because Sheldon was there. I went to see him in his office just now and we kissed some more."

"That would explain why your face is all red."

"My face is red because I walked really fast to get to your car!" Penny lied.

"Yeah, yeah." Bernadette waved a hand at her. "So are you guys like... _dating _now?"

"I don't know. I guess so." Penny bit her lip. "I mean, we went on a date and tonight we're going out for dinner - that's something, right?"

Bernadette giggled. "After you spent so long trying to get him to notice you, it is _definitely _something."

"Shut up!" Penny folded her arms, but bit back a smile anyway. "I'm gonna say it's something. Like, the way he kissed me - that's _definitely _something." She said, mostly to reassure herself. "Admittedly, I _did _just kiss him first but the other times it was him that went first."

"Ooh, getting back into the swing of things are you? Finally just kissing the guy!"

"You are having _way _too much fun with this." Penny scowled.

"Hey, it took you like over a month to get this guy - this is the _best_." Bernadette grinned. "How did it even happen anyway? You came out of his apartment just grinning away."

"To be honest, I was kinda pissed off. So I told him that I liked him. And it was as easy as that."

"Wow, telling people you like them - who would have thought _that's _how easy this thing is?" Bernadette laughed.

"You don't have to be so sarcastic about it! _God_! He didn't tell me that he likes me either!"

"Yes, but he's shy and adorable. You're... you know, kinda slutty. Usually if you want a guy you go get him. Plus you _knew _he likes you; you really could have done this all so much quicker."

"I just don't want to rush things." Penny sighed, although she knew her friend was right - things could have been a bit faster if only one of them had made the move. "When did any of those other guys work out for me when I just went for it? I want this to work out. I don't want to scare him away, he's still so shy and nervous about this stuff. I mean, I _do _want things to move forward and it was getting _so _frustrating that nothing was happening... but a change in pace is nice."

"I wish Howard was like that. He took me down to my cab after the party and I thought I'd be nice and hug him goodbye and his hands were definitely on my ass for a few seconds. But it wasn't a full on grab, so I figured I'd ignore it. He said he'd call."

"Has he?"

"Nope."

"But I'm guessing you guys kinda worked things out about the whole-"

"Fact that he's a sexist pig? He's far from forgiven, but I have to give him some credit for not taking advantage of me after the party." Bernadette raised her brows. "Though I have to admit, it was kinda nice to have a guys hands on my ass again."

"That doesn't sound slutty at all."

"You're just jealous." Bernadette smirked.

"Oh, whatever." Penny scrunched up her face. They drove in silence for a while before Penny let out a loud groan. "Do you know how long it's been since I had sex? A _long _time. Would it _kill _Leonard to just like, grab my ass, or my boob, or just... something? _Anything_! Literally anything!"

Giggling, Bernadette shook her head. "There it is."

"I have a great ass! And I practically shoved my tongue down his throat! I don't want to rush things but _God_, at least put your hands on it Hofstadter." Penny folded her arms over her chest again.

"This is going to be so much fun."


	8. 7 Olives

_**Sitting in Leonard's car waiting for him to be done in his audition. He looks SO HOT. Been on same chapter of this book for an hour. I am THIS CLOSE to taking my clothes off under my coat for when he comes back to the car. Wish I was kidding. **_

Bernadette giggled as she read Penny's text message. They had been keeping her entertained during her study session in the library; usually she would study with Penny but she had abandoned her for Leonard - and it was proving to be hilarious, albeit evidently highly unproductive for them both.

_**Just don't start getting off to his headshot. That's probably the one thing more embarrassing than your PHD jokes! **_

It didn't take long for Penny to reply with a firm _**DON'T BRING THAT UP LIKE EVER AGAIN. **_

In the car, Penny rolled her eyes and quickly put her phone away. Bernadette was always quick to make fun of her and she didn't mind, but _that _was something she didn't want to revisit. She'd promised herself less drunken Penny and more the Penny she was trying to be - which would eliminate the drunken texts and photos, at least. Opening her book again, she strummed her highlighter on the open page waiting to come across a phrase worth highlighting. She tended to be a serial highlighter - once she was done with a chapter, almost every single sentence was highlighted with the occasional note next to it to remind her why she had found that part important or useful. She _had _to focus or she'd begin really falling behind with her work. She already needed to put in extra hours; Leonard being a distraction was something she couldn't afford right now.

_Besides, if you get through this chapter then you could go out for dinner tonight, _Penny told herself.

Now _that _was the motivation she needed.

Suddenly she was flying through the chapter, highlighting and jotting down notes on the side as though her life depended on it. She had moved onto the next one and just about noticed Leonard getting back into the car.

"Sorry that took so long - they wanted to see me again for an on-the-spot recall!" Leonard was practically beaming.

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" Penny grinned, shutting the book. Now they'd _definitely _have to go out for dinner. Was she complaining? Not at all. She hadn't even noticed how long she had spent in the car reading - her motivation had worked wonders. And evidently, so had the outfit she'd picked out for Leonard whilst shopping. "So I guess the clothes worked, huh?"

"They sure did! They said I really looked the part. I've _never _been told that!"

"Aww, I'm so pleased for you!" Penny clapped her hands together. "When do you find out more?"

"Within a week." Leonard shrugged. "Still - I reckon this is the best I've done at an audition like this. Thank you, Penny. Come on; I'm gonna take you out to dinner to celebrate."

"Huh. I was gonna take _you _out to dinner to celebrate." Penny giggled.

"Well I said it first." Leonard shrugged with the hint of a smirk, his successful audition giving him a slight streak of confidence.

"Okay. Can we go home first? I wanna put something... nicer on."

"Sure."

"But you stay in those clothes."

"Umm, okay." Leonard had been hoping to change into his usual clothes, but if Penny insisted then he'd stay in these. It wasn't that he didn't like them - he just wasn't as comfortable in them. He knew he didn't have the best fashion sense but what was so wrong with quirky t-shirts and hoodies? Though he supposed if she was planning on putting something nice on he should really reciprocate the efforts. He didn't want to look more out of place than he already did with her.

* * *

When Penny had said she wanted to put on something 'nicer' Leonard had not expected her to exit her apartment wearing what she was.

"Wow." Leonard's eyes refused to blink as he took in the figure-hugging dark purple dress and all the parts of her body it accentuated. Was there anything about her that _wasn't _perfect? _Nope. _"You look... incredible. That dress is amazing."

"Oh this old thing?" Penny shrugged, looking down at her outfit as though she hadn't tried on nine other dresses before settling on this one. "First thing that came out of my wardrobe."

"Well it looks... _so _good."

"I just wanted to make sure my outfit looked as great as yours." Penny smiled. She took her time to lock her door and place the key in her purse, quite enjoying Leonard's eyes on her.

"We should get going." Leonard said, clearing his throat. If they didn't he was definitely going to stay stuck in that spot just staring at her for at least another hour.

* * *

"You want an olive?" Penny pushed the complimentary olive platter toward Leonard.

"Oh, no thanks. I'm not a fan of olives."

"Ah, me either. They just taste _so weird._" Penny prodded an olive with a toothpick before grinning. "Hey, you wanna see something cool?"

"Always." Leonard nodded in response.

"I can pick up that olive into this glass without touching it." Placing an olive on the table, Penny placed the empty water glass over it and started spinning it. She let the speed and motion build until the olive was lifted into the glass, and lifted the glass up off the table proudly, continuing the circular motion.

"Oh, centrifugal force!" Leonard said excitedly; finally some of the things Sheldon had tried to teach him were coming in useful!

"It's actually centripetal." Penny corrected.

"Same thing." Leonard blushed slightly.

"Not really. Centripetal force is- oh, oops." Mid-giggle, Penny had lost the momentum in the glass and dropped the olive out. "Sorry." Bending down, she looked under the table for the olive. Unable to see it, she slid off her chair to get beneath the table and locate it. Beneath the darkness of the tablecloth, she didn't see the beam running across the middle of the table and bumped her head against it, instantly wincing and putting a hand to her head where she'd hit it. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Leonard asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Penny removed her hand, feeling something thick and warm on her fingers. "Did you spill ketchup?"

"Umm, no."

"Oh." _Crap_. "Then no, I am not okay."

"Oh God." Leonard instantly slid off his seat and lifted the tablecloth. He recoiled slightly at the sight of blood, trying not to gag. "That looks painful."

"Doesn't feel too great." Penny mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut.

"We should go to the emergency room. I'll ask for some ice, stay right there-" Leonard quickly scrambled up, flagging down a waitress. "Excuse me? Umm, could we have some ice? My, uh, my friend hit her head and she's bleeding-"

"Of course, Sir, right away."

Leonard knelt back down. "Okay, she's getting you some ice. Let's get you up." Moving so he was behind her, Leonard half-dragged Penny up with the waist and seated her again, where she slumped back. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Penny said in what she hoped was a convincing tone. "Just... bleeding from my head."

"Here's the ice." The waitress handed Penny a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. "Do you need anything else?"

"Just the bill please, we should probably go - we didn't order our food yet, just the drinks." Leonard gestured to the two glasses of wine on the table.

"Don't worry about the bill, Sir." The waitress assured him.

"Okay, umm, thank you." Leonard nodded hastily, before turning to Penny and putting the ice bag to her forehead and guiding her hand so she would hold it there herself. "We should get you to the ER."

"No, I don't need to go there. You can just take me home." Penny assured him quickly, trying to ignore the fact that everything was slightly blurry.

"Do you want some water before we go?"

"It's okay, I'll be fine."

"Okay." Leonard stood from his chair again and helped Penny up from hers, wrapping an arm around her waist in case she needed the support. They left the restaurant quietly, both of them wishing people would stop staring. She carefully got into his car and closed her eyes the moment she'd done up her seatbelt, putting the ice bag back on her head. "You sure you don't wanna go to the ER?" Leonard asked a final time as he sat down in the driver's seat.

"I'm sure. I'm fine, Leonard." Penny said, attempting to smile at him.

He carefully pulled out of the parking space and began making their way home, making sure not to brake too quickly or speed up too fast. He constantly looked over at her to make sure that she was still conscious and still okay, but didn't say anything in case she just wanted some peace and quiet. Ten minutes into the journey he decided that he should probably focus more on the road now that they were in faster moving traffic and she seemed to be doing fine. Besides, he figured she probably felt bad enough without having him constantly checking on her. It was right then that Penny suddenly wound down the window and without warning threw up.

"Oh my God are you okay?" Leonard asked, trying not to panic as his eyes darted between Penny and the car in front of him.

"Mm-hmm." Penny mumbled unconvincingly, nodding quickly before throwing up again.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to pull over somewhere? I'll put my emergency lights on."

"No, it's okay." Penny said, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "But drive faster, I _may _have got a bit of sick on that guys car."

As Penny wound up her window, Leonard sped up a little to create some more distance between him and the poor victimized car. "You sure you're fine?"

"Yeah. I'm okay now." Penny nodded, replacing her ice bag once more. "I think I got a bit of it on your door. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Doesn't smell too good. I think it's on the inside too."

"We're almost home, I'll clean it up once I've got you upstairs. Sure you're doing okay?"

"Yeah, just... probably need to lie down in the dark for a while." Penny sighed, closing her eyes. She had put on a nice dress and expensive underwear with the hopes that perhaps tonight things would go a little further - and instead she had embarrassed herself. Her attempts to use science to impress Leonard had failed miserably, resulting in her vomit in his car and a lovely blow to the forehead. "Really not the blow I was going for." Penny mumbled to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing." Penny said quickly. Had she really just said that out loud? _Shit, maybe I do have a bit of a concussion_.

They drove the rest of the way in silence, though Leonard continued to glance over at her more often just in case she had to throw up again. They arrived outside 2311 without any further incident and he parked as close as he could to the entrance of their building. He got out quickly before helping Penny, who to his reassurance wasn't insisting that she didn't need help - every so often she would wince, and there was no chance in hell he was letting her walk all the way up those stairs on her own.

"God this is so painful." Penny whimpered, half-way up the stairs.

"Are you _sure _you don't want to go to the ER?" Leonard asked worriedly.

"No, it'll be okay, it's really not ER-worthy. I'm sorry about your car."

"Don't worry about it. You got _most _of it on the outside and the other car." He chuckled slightly. "Once I've given it a clean it'll be okay; I'll take it to the valet tomorrow and it'll be like it never happened."

"I'll buy your car a new air freshener." Penny promised as they reached their floor. "Can you get my key out of my purse please? It's just in the little zipped pocket."

"Sure." Leonard wriggled her purse from beneath her arm. He figured this was her way of asking him to help her settle down for the night; not exactly how he'd envisioned this date ending, but his luck had never been that good anyway. It was asking a bit much for things to move forward with Penny so fast, given his past dating experience. He hoped she wasn't too upset or embarrassed by what had happened - it could have happened to anyone and her olive trick really had been impressive. He had to remember to tell her that. Locating her key, he unlocked her apartment door before putting an arm around her waist again and pushing the door open. "Shall I leave the light off?"

"Yeah. The hallway light is giving me a headache anyway." Penny nodded slowly. She waited as he kicked the door closed behind him and helped her over to her bedroom. She probably could have made it on her own, but having the security of knowing he was there to support her made her feel a lot safer and more stable on her feet.

He got Penny over to her bed, sitting her down and turning on the bedside light before crouching slightly so he could look closely at her. "I'm gonna get you some water and I'll grab some painkillers from my apartment. You're okay getting changed into your pajamas, right?"

"Sure." Penny nodded with a half sigh.

"Good. And I'll see if I can find something for your head. Where exactly is it bleeding from?"

"I don't know, I haven't had a chance to look." Penny moved the ice bag away, dropping it onto the floor. Closing her eyes, she felt Leonard stand up so he could take a look at her head. His fingers gently moved her hair out of the way, and she tried not to hum contentedly at the feeling. Despite the pain, his touch felt incredibly soothing. The throbbing pain did nothing to distract her mind from imagining his fingers running through her hair and down her body-

"That doesn't look too bad." Leonard decided, pulling away, catching her sudden shudder but dismissing it as a side effect of her injury. "I think I have some sterile gauze in Sheldon's First Aid box that we could put on it overnight, just in case."

Cautiously, Leonard left Penny's apartment and went to his own. He left the doors open in case she called out for him; he knew he was overreacting and being paranoid, but he didn't want to risk it. For all he knew, Penny's head was completely spinning and she was waiting for him to leave so she could throw up again. If it was him, he'd be the same. Nevertheless, he didn't want to leave her alone for too long at the moment so he quickly located the painkillers and some sterile gauze in the first aid box Sheldon kept in the bathroom. Rushing back to her place and grabbing a bottle of water from her fridge, he was pleased to see that she had managed to get into her pajamas and under the covers.

"Everything okay?"

"Uh-huh. I brushed my teeth too. I promise you, I'm okay." Penny gave him a weak smile. "It just hurts." Okay, so that was a lie - her head felt like it was visibly throbbing, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I'll be fine once I've got some sleep."

"Alright. I'll put the gauze on and then you can take the medication and I'll let you have your beauty sleep."

Blushing, Penny's lips curled upwards into a bigger smile. "Okay."

Her eyes closed as he once more moved her hair out of the way, gently placing the gauze before securing it with some surgical tape. "There we go. Let me know how you're feeling tomorrow morning; I'm happy to drive you wherever or whenever you need me to."

"I think I'll be fine to go in tomorrow. I don't have work in the evening so at least I can come home and rest after a couple of hours if it doesn't feel any better. Thank you, Leonard."

"No problem." Leonard hesitated before perching himself on the edge of her bed. "Despite the whole... possible concussion thing... I quite enjoyed our little sort-of date."

"Me too. It _was _a date." Penny confirmed with a tiny nod. "I'll explain the olive thing to you another time. Make sure Sheldon doesn't tell you; I don't want him spoiling the plot."

Chuckling, Leonard nodded. "Okay." On instinct, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Penny."

"Goodnight, Leonard." Penny brushed his arm with her fingers as he got up.

* * *

Having re-told the story of the previous night to Bernadette over lunch, Penny was still unable to let go of the subject later that afternoon in her apartment while they were both working on her couch. Over the day she had gotten more and more frustrated with herself, unable to let what had happened the previous night go just yet.

"Can you _believe _that? I threw up in his car!" Penny groaned, jabbing her pencil at her book.

"Re-living it isn't going to help." Bernadette pointed out.

"I put on a dress that literally said 'bang me' and instead I _bang _my head on the table. It was the worst bang in the history of things that did and did not bang." Penny grumbled, scribbling her still incorrect answer out.

"I am going to _bang _this book over your head and make sure you are absolutely definitely concussed if you say the word bang again tonight." Bernadette threatened.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Penny sighed, putting her book on the table. "I should really take some more painkillers."

"Don't worry, I'll get them for you." Bernadette said quickly, jumping up. She had spent her whole day trying to convince Penny to just go home and rest but Penny was very insistent on continuing with her day as usual. So she had suggested that they go study at Penny's place so that she could keep an eye on her just in case anything happened - she'd been complaining of a headache all day and seemed slightly out-of-focus. "You want a snack while I'm up here?"

"Nah, that's alright. I'm still full from lunch."

"You _did _get a double serving of that apple crumble."

"I _love _apple crumble! It wasn't as good as my Mom's, but... apple crumble is apple crumble. Even crappy apple crumble is better than no apple crumble at all." Penny picked her book back up. "Man, I swear I'm down more brain cells than usual today. This just doesn't make sense."

"That's not surprising." Bernadette said, sitting back down and placing the water and tablets on the table. "Though maybe you're thinking too much about Leonard and not enough about the work."

"Can you blame me?"

"I suppose your lack of focus on academia and extra focus on Leonard is forgivable - even understandable. I mean, Howard's pretty forward, I've had enough ass grabbing to get me through the week." Bernadette smirked. "I'm all good to go. You, on the other hand-"

"Okay, I get it!" Penny rolled her eyes, but laughing all the same. "How are things with you two anyway? Have you slept with him yet?"

"No!" Bernadette exclaimed, almost shocked that Penny would make such an assumption. "We haven't even been on three official dates yet. Besides, I want to know that he's looking for a relationship before we actually do that. If this is just some silly thing to him then he can forget about it."

"Ah, taking things slow I see?"

"Yep." Bernadette nodded, watching Penny take the painkillers. "You know, perhaps you hitting your head was a blessing in disguise. Maybe it's God's way of telling you to take it slow with this guy and stop trying to rush things."

"I'm trying to take thing slow! I was showing him an _olive spinning in a glass_. That's me trying to go slow. That's Nerdy Scientist Penny showing off - _that _part of me is fine with going slow. I get nervous and awkward and... you know, concussed, apparently. But when it comes down to _me _and what I _want_ to happen? I'm not so good at taking things slow. I want things in the bedroom and I want them fast. Not too fast, I mean, it's gotta last." Penny giggled to herself.

"You want things to work out with Leonard, right?"

"Yes! Of course I do! He's... he's _adorable_. And so... I want to _be _with him. I don't want him to just be _some guy _to me. He's not. He's more than that."

"I know. And that's what I'm saying. Isn't it worth trying to just... slow down a little with him? Maybe don't rush this guy to the bedroom?"

Nodding, Penny sighed. "It is, I _do _want to try take things... seriously, and make them matter. But I really, _really _want to... do things. It took us _so _long just to go on a date - _that _was slow! This is just... _frustrating_."

"Well, just think about how much better it will be after waiting."

"Better? I hope so. I know it'll be faster, I can tell you that." Penny snorted.


	9. 8 Blue Shirt

"Penny?"

Looking up, a smile spread across Penny's face. Sat in a quiet corner of the cafeteria, she had been working on her essay for over an hour. And while things had been slightly awkward with Leonard recently, seeing his face was a definite positive. "Oh, hey! What're you doing here?"

"I came to get some coffee." Leonard sat down, tapping his coffee-filled mug. "How're you feeling?"

"A little tired but otherwise good. Using this down time to work on this essay." Penny hit the 'Save' button on her document. "How're things your end? Did you hear back from the audition yet?"

"Oh... yeah. I didn't get it."

"No! That sucks, I'm so sorry." Penny took his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"It's okay." Leonard wanted to continue on to say that there would always be another audition and he was used to the rejection anyway, but he found their joined hands incredibly comforting and distracting. Why complain when _this _was happening?

"Still, at least you know you looked great." Penny smiled.

"I did, didn't I?" Leonard said, almost hopefully - it was a little needy, but he needed that confirmation.

"You sure did." Penny nodded, squeezing his hand. Biting her lip, she rubbed her thumb over his skin nervously. "I know we haven't really spoken properly since that last date-"

"That's okay."

"It's just... I dunno, I threw up in your _car_. And I was disappointed with myself because that's not how I wanted the date to end, you know?" Penny admitted shyly. "And then the car journeys in the mornings and some of these afternoons in the canteen and... I just felt a little awkward."

"Penny, I don't care that you threw up in my car. And sure, I didn't want the date to end that way either, if I'm being honest. But... it happens. For what it's worth, I liked that olive trick. I thought it was cool."

"You did?" Penny's eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

"It would have been cooler if I hadn't... you know what? Never mind. I threw up in your car. I'm over it. I am _so _over it." Penny said decisively. "What're you doing tonight?"

"Comic Book Store."

"Okay. When you get back from there, we're having dinner at my place. I won't cook because... I _can't_, but we can order take out and have some wine and we'll have a nice little date and it will end better than the last one. How does that sound?"

He could tell that Penny was trying to make up for the last date - and while he knew that she didn't need to, he loved her taking control. It was hot. He wondered if he could muster up enough confidence at some point to decide a date just like that. "That sounds great."

* * *

"I see you said yes to my proposal." Sheldon said in way of announcing his presence at Amy's office.

"Yes. It seemed like a worthy collaboration. Although I would have preferred if you had knocked just now."

"My apologies; the door was open." Sheldon bowed his head. Being one to hate unannounced visitors, he should have have the courtesy to knock on this door.

"Penny was just here, she must have left it open."

"Are you friends with Penny?"

"I don't know. She was just asking me about superheroes and comic books. I'm not sure if that constitutes friendship or not. Why?"

"Just curious - since my roommate is dating her and we are collaborating on this project, it creates an interesting paradigm."

"Indeed it does." Amy agreed. They were silent for a while, and she thought about the conversation she had had a few days ago with Raj and Howard. How Sheldon had specifically chosen her out of all the theoretical physicists in the department, and how Sheldon had spoken about her after the party. She didn't know how true any of it was, but either way she had to admit that she was more interested now that they'd told her those things. "Would you like to get some tea from the cafeteria and come back here to my office to discuss how we will proceed with this collaboration?"

"Ooh. That actually sounds enjoyable. I'm wearing a slightly thinner t-shirt than usual and the air conditioning is on too strongly for my liking today, so the warm drink would be greatly appreciated."

* * *

"Hey!" Leonard couldn't help but grin at the sight of Penny in her protective goggles; she looked so serious and adorable.

"Hey!" Penny put her pen down and grinned. "How did you know I was in here? Oh here, put these goggles on sweetie." She grabbed a spare pair from the worktop behind her.

"I passed by Amy and Sheldon in the cafeteria and Amy said she saw you in one of the labs so I thought I'd go for a walk and see if I could find you." Leonard shrugged as he pulled the goggles on. "I've never been down here before."

"Just in time, I'm about to finish the experiment. Come here, out the way of the laser." Penny gestured over beside her. "The goggles only protect your eyes."

Leonard quickly scurried over, and she bent forward to focus herself again before running the laser. He watched her work for a couple of minutes, amazed that this was the same perky blonde who got excited over a pair of shoes. It was mesmerizing, the way she was completely concentrated on her work. It wasn't that she became a different person - it was just very interesting seeing this side of her at work.

"There we go!" Penny announced, shaking him out of his reverie. She went about switching off the lasers and turning the lights back on in the lab as she removed her goggles. She could only hope that Leonard found the goggles look adorable rather than weird.

"That was pretty cool!"

"I just needed some results for my paper. I'll have to repeat it a few times over the next week." Penny shrugged, grabbing her notebook and scribbling down what Leonard could only assume were the results of today's experiment. "You finished for the day? Or just snooping around and avoiding work?"

"I'm all done. You got much else to do?"

"Nope." Penny shook her head, closing her notepad. "That's me done for the day. I always like to book my experiment time as the last thing I do because it's the most fun."

"That's smart." Leonard chuckled. "Seems more fun than just writing a paper anyway."

"It is." Penny nodded, leaning back against the worktop. She tilted her head as she observed him, a smirk spreading on her lips. "You're wearing the shirt we bought together."

"Oh... yeah." Leonard blushed slightly, running his hands down the shirt. He had worn it in the hopes she would notice; earlier he'd had a hoodie zipped up over it and only after speaking to Amy and Sheldon had he realized that it was hidden away.

"It looks good. Really good." Penny bit her lip.

"Thank you." Leonard gave her a nervous smile, his throat suddenly very dry. "You... you look really good too. You look... you look hot, you know, when you're in your science gear."

All of a sudden the air was thick with tension and their gazes were locked to the point that it was impossible to even blink.

So Leonard decided to go for it. Screw being nervous; he wanted to kiss her. She was hot - even hotter now that he'd seen her doing an experiment - and she was giving him a look no girl had ever given him before. A look she'd given him before she kissed him at the party and that time in his office. The same dilated eyes and lip bite from the goodbye kiss after their dinner date. And perhaps she'd like him to initiate a kiss - and perhaps that time was now.

He stepped forward and instantly placed his lips on hers and his hands around her waist. Her chest almost fell forward into his as she instantly responded to the kiss, hands starting at his arms but moving up into his hair. Her fingers tangled into his curls desperately as his tongue pushed into her mouth. She completely surrendered herself to him, hearing her own pleasure-ridden moans over his softer groans. And then it happened - his hands slid down to her ass, giving a generous squeeze. Her hips ground forward, legs weak and heart racing.

"Mm oh _God_," Penny moaned, head tilting back in pleasure, in the hopes that he'd move his lips to her neck. Her excitement had reached new levels; no way did she want him to stop now.

Only their lips disconnecting had done the opposite, and Leonard quickly remembered they were in a lab with the door wide open. "Penny?"

"Mm-hmm." Her hands fell to his arms again, squeezing the muscles appreciatively.

"We really shouldn't do this here."

"Oh." Her hands fell to her sides and she stepped back awkwardly, still blushing and panting. She knew _someone _had to be the voice of reason, but why did there _have _to be a reason to stop? She should have booked the lab for an extra hour! Then she could at least go close the door and assure him nobody would interrupt them or know what they'd done in the lab. But even she knew that in the next five minutes the next person would be coming in. As adventurous and daring as she was, she didn't want Leonard to feel uncomfortable. Clearing her throat, she licked her lips. "I guess we continue tonight."

"Yes. That sounds like a plan." Leonard nodded, before chuckling slightly. "Is it weird to make plans to be making out?"

"A little. But kinda necessary after that, don't you think?" Penny smirked. "I'm gonna pack up this experiment and then we can go."

* * *

"And you call _me _slutty!"

"What the _hell_!" Bernadette squealed, jumping back in shock at the sound of Penny's voice in her ear. She clutched the underwear set the was holding to her chest, glaring at Penny. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"You'll give Howard one if he sees you in that underwear." Penny smirked.

"Perhaps that's the plan." Bernadette shrugged.

"Really? A heart attack?" Penny laughed. "I know he was a total ass about you studying Engineering but I think a heart attack is a _little _much."

"Not a _literal _heart attack. You know what I mean." Bernadette rolled her eyes. "What brings you here?"

"Same thing that brings you here. I just haven't picked anything yet... which is kind of making me panic because I need to go home and get ready." Penny bit her lip. She'd been in the store for a half hour trying to decide what to buy.

"Big plans with Leonard tonight then, huh?"

"Not _big _plans, just takeout and wine at my place and then I intend for the night to end with us naked in my bed."

"You're so classy." Bernadette giggled. "You were really up for some ass grabbing, I'd go for something with a thong."

"That doesn't narrow it down _at all_." Penny groaned. "And I already had same ass grabbing earlier, thank you very much."

"What? Where? Why didn't you tell me? I _seriously _hope it was from Leonard."

"_Yes _it was Leonard! God!" Penny hit Bernadette's arm playfully. "It was in the practice lab. We made out a little."

"I don't think that's the kind of experiment that's meant to take place in the practice lab, even if you're into experimental physics. You're supposed to stick to the big lasers in there... _actual _lasers."

"So. _Funny_." Penny rolled her eyes, nudging Bernadette before stopping at the set she'd been coming back to a few times. "What do you think of this?"

"Honestly? A bit... you know, see-through for the first time you're sleeping with him."

Sighing, Penny gave the set a final look before moving on. "You're probably right."

"Can you imagine if guys put this much thought into their underwear?" Bernadette asked with a laugh.

"With Howard and Leonard it's probably just picking the least nerdy underwear they own. Ooh, how about this one?" Penny stopped once more, this time at the set she'd had her eye on and been contemplating - the only issue was the price. It had to be worth it.

"Ooh. Now _that _is more like it." Bernadette nodded appreciatively.

"Thank God! It's a little expensive, but hey - there is _no way _tonight _isn't _gonna end up with us naked in my bed if I'm wearing this." Penny decided, going through to find her size. "And I think I'll get the other set too so I have something for the near future."

"You're really quite serious about this, aren't you?"

"What, underwear? Of course I am."

"No, I meant Leonard."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I mean... _I _want there to be a near future. Things are going well. We've had the chance to really get to know each other and I feel... _something_. I don't know what it is, but it's good. It's really good."

* * *

"Whatever you do, don't wear your Aquaman boxers." Leonard said to Howard's face on the screen of his laptop. Howard had initially called him via Skype to ask if Penny had said anything about Bernadette saying anything about him, as they were going out to a fancy restaurant that evening and he wanted to be prepared. It had turned into a mutual advice-giving conversation, with Leonard taking his laptop from his desk to his bedroom so they could advise each other on clothing choices. "Stick to plain colors."

"Good idea - I'll match them to my shirt." Howard nodded, before furrowing his brow in deep thought. "Or should they match my shoes?"

"Surely your shoes would be off before your pants." Leonard raised a brow.

"Good point. Shirt it is. I'll find my blue briefs, I think Ma washed them the other day." Howard said. "Did you decide on a shirt yet?"

"Well, Penny said she liked the one I'm wearing now."

"And I told you, you can't wear the same clothes tonight as you wore during the day." Howard reminded him. "You went shopping with her, pick a different shirt you bought together."

"That's a good idea." Leonard nodded, quickly rushing to his closet. "What color?"

"What color are your boxer shorts?"

"Green. But I'm not matching my shirt to my underwear!" Leonard said quickly.

"See, that's the difference between us my friend. I have _style_."

"Yeah, _style_, that's what it is." Leonard rolled his eyes. "I think she really liked the blue one when I tried it on in the store."

"Then wear the blue one." Howard shrugged.

"What if I get sweat patches? They'll be visible on the blue one."

"They'll be visible on whatever shirt you wear. Just put on extra deodorant. Besides if things go well, you probably won't be wearing your shirt for very long at all." Howard wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Good point. Blue shirt it is."


	10. 9 Strawberry Gateau

Casual - but not too casual: this was the look that Penny had gone for. This was supposed to be a date, after all - just without the fancy part of actually going out anywhere. Just her and Leonard in her apartment, eating food. That was no big deal, right? Something that didn't really require much effort - something they had done many times before. Only it was a _date_, and that required a _lot _of effort. In some ways, Penny was pretty certain she was putting more thought into her outfit than she was on her Ph.D. work, but who could blame her? A Ph.D. could satisfy her academically, but everything else that needed satisfying relied on herself and greatly involved Leonard.

Takeout at her apartment meant that she could afford something slightly more comfortable than a figure-hugging dress with carefully selected underwear to accentuate whatever parts the dress showed off. She wore (of course) the underwear she had purchased with Bernadette concealed (only temporarily concealed, she hoped) beneath black skinny jeans and a low-necked blue blouse. Black pumps because they were easy to kick off. She couldn't exactly argue with that kind of shoe logic, and as great as she and her ass looked in high heels, heels simply were not right for the occasion.

There was a knock at the door and she took a deep breath before answering it. When had dates become so nerve-wracking anyway? But Leonard seemed at least equally nervous in his dark blue shirt and black jeans, bouncing slightly on the heels of his Converse, only stopping himself a few seconds after she'd opened the door and he'd realized he was still doing it.

She invited him in and they exchanged small talk at the island over a glass of wine. Another glass of wine while they ordered their food and watched a game show on the television, mostly using it as background noise and talking over it. Leonard didn't often drink more than one glass of wine but he knew it would calm his nerves and let him relax a little - not a method he often relied on, but it was the one that currently seamed most feasible. He was having the third glass with his food, so it kept him from feeling the more undesired effects of the alcohol and much more grounded. And he _did_ feel himself relaxing more - Penny even more so, although she'd had two glasses of wine with her food.

"Ooh! We even have dessert!" Penny suddenly remembered, jumping up from the couch to fetch the brown paper bag Leonard had brought in with him from the island. She stopped at the fridge, her eyes going wide with excitement. "Ooh, know what would be great right now? I've been waiting for a reason to open my new bottle of Peppermint Schnapps!"

"Awesome!" Leonard grinned, proud that his being in her apartment was deemed a good reason to open a new bottle of... Peppermint Schnapps. Whatever that was. Alcohol, he assumed. "What is Peppermint Schnapps?"

"Peppermint flavored Schnapps, duh." Penny raised a brow at him, shaking her head, before coming to sit back down on the couch with him. She placed the bag and bottle on the table and then jumped back up. "Clean tumblers! Are we gonna need cutlery for dessert?"

"Yeah, cutlery would be a good idea - I stopped by the bakery and got two slices of Strawberry Gateau. That's a bit difficult to eat with our hands."

Her eyes grew wide once more. "Oh my God! I _love _Strawberry Gateau!"

"Then I made a great choice in dessert."

"You really did." Penny agreed, refraining from pointing out that these gateau slices were only the pre-dessert to the dessert _she _had planned for the evening. Grabbing two clean tumblers, plates and forks, she returned once more. "You sort the dessert, I'll pour the drinks."

"That's a pretty efficient plan."

"Right?" Penny stuck her tongue between her teeth as she opened the bottle. She knew she was only being efficient so she didn't rush through the evening but still got to what she _really _wanted soon enough. By the way he kept looking at her, she was pretty sure he wanted it to. _Stop thinking about that, _Penny told herself, looking around for a distraction. "Doesn't Strawberry Gateau have cream in it?"

"Yeah - but it's okay, I can have it. That's not enough to make anything happen." Leonard shrugged. He'd had a slice the day before, just to make sure he was still okay with eating them and having no effect from the lactose - it wasn't totally effect-free, but nothing too dangerous for a date.

And that was when Penny began to get playful: a few long, generous gulps of Peppermint Schnapps and a slice of Strawberry Gateau later. Surprisingly, she had quite enjoyed the twang of the peppermint mixing with the sweetness of the gateau. Scraping the leftover cream off her plate with a finger, she grinned mischievously as she waited for him to put his plate down on the coffee table before sticking her hand out and smearing the cream onto his lip. "_Yes_!" She slapped her thigh, grinning at her achievement. She would have settled for getting his cheek or nose, but the lip was perfect - evidently her aim hadn't been compromised just yet.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Nothing." Penny giggled, and before he could pick up his napkin and wipe off the cream she had latched her lips onto his. Even then, before he could begin kissing her back, she'd removed herself again. "See, I cleaned it up for you."

"So you did." Leonard smirked.

When he dipped his finger in the leftover cream from his own plate, Penny knew exactly what he was doing - and she patiently waited her turn, willing to be teased. She was patient while he slowly trailed his finger along her lip, the cream moistening her lips while her throat went dry with anticipation. She was patient while he wiped his finger clean of the remaining cream, catching his teasing smirk - he knew full well he was dragging this out, and he was enjoying it. She wanted to hate him for it but she loved it too much. When his lips finally connected with hers, she was far from patient.

And that's when Leonard felt it - the telltale rumble in his stomach. Pulling back from her, his eyes went wide. "Crap."

"What?" Penny asked. Was her kissing _that _bad? Or could he tell how desperate she was? She knew it was off-putting when she could tell a guy was desperate; did it work the other way round as well? "I'm sorry." She blurted out; it was the only thing she could think of to fill the silence and given his reaction and lack of words, the only conclusion that came up in her mind was that she had done something wrong.

"No, it's not - it's..." Leonard paused as his stomach rumbled again. "I think I was wrong. There was quite possibly too much cream for me on that cake."

"Do you want some water?" Penny stood up in a panic, rushing over to her kitchen and opening all the cupboards. "Umm, or... I have some painkillers? Toast? Crackers? Tea?"

"Bathroom." Leonard said, shooting up and running through her bedroom to the bathroom.

Penny cringed slightly as she heard him throw up; it was bad enough when _she _was the one throwing up, but just hearing someone else throw up made her stomach churn. The alcohol certainly wasn't helping. Waiting until she heard the toilet flush, she made her way cautiously through to the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

"Now I know how you felt after the olive incident." Leonard mumbled, getting up to wash his hands and rinse his mouth at the sink.

"Ugh. Don't remind me." Penny groaned, plopping herself down on the edge of the bathtub. "That was worse. I was sick _in your car_. At least you got it all into the toilet and I didn't see."

"Because of some cream in a cake. Still embarrassing."

"But that's understandable - you have an allergy, your body reacts. I just wanted to impress you with an olive, dropped it, and ended up with a possible concussion." Penny winced at the memory before giving him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I win."

"Do you have any mouthwash?"

"Yeah, it's in the cabinet." Penny nodded. "I never did finish explaining the olive thing and centripetal force."

Rinsing his mouth out, Leonard ran the tap to rinse the sink slightly. He had just thrown up in a hot girls toilet during their date, right in the middle of the beginnings of a make-out (and possibly more, he though) session. It was terrible, and right now he wanted to find out about centripetal force and then hide away in embarrassment for at least six months, but he needed to take a stand. His confidence was well below zero, but he was an actor - he could pretend his confidence was one hundred percent. That was his job, wasn't it? "You can tell me about centripetal force over dinner tomorrow at my place."

"Really?" Penny's head snapped up to look at him. Half of her was surprised by the sudden turn in events, the other was captured by his confidence; it was _hot_. He wasn't _asking _her to dinner - he was telling her. "O-okay. I'll be there."

Leonard refrained from asking _you will_? - having decided that that would distinguish his flame of confidence. "Excellent. You can bring a bottle of wine - maybe just one this time - and I'll order the food."

"Sounds good to me." Penny smiled at him, before biting her bottom lip nervously. "So I guess this is where we... call it a night."

"I guess it is." Leonard agreed. "I'd, uh, kiss you, but-"

"Don't worry." Penny giggled, standing up. "We'll save it for tomorrow. I mean... we can do a little more waiting, can't we?"

* * *

"This is the most messed up version of 'taking it slow' _ever_!" Penny exclaimed the following day. Bernadette was working on her laptop while Penny attempted to continue her experiment from the day before, but her mind was distracted. "And do you know what the dumbest part is? When he left, I went to wash my underwear so I could wear it again tonight. Who does that?" She jabbed furiously at the switch for the laser.

"Careful!" Bernadette squealed, ducking her head.

"I know what I'm doing!"

"You have them set too high - you'll _burn _the thing! Or me! At least point it in the right direction!"

Penny looked down to find that her friend was right. "Oh." She turned one of the dials to adjust the laser setting slightly before going to focus the aim of the device. "Sorry."

Thoughtfully, Bernadette observed Penny for a while as she double-checked the set-up of her experiment, making various adjustments as she went along. "You really are new to this whole... not rushing into sex and getting to know the guy kind of relationship, aren't you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Most people don't nearly burn things with a laser when a date goes badly."

"It was an accident." Penny shot at Bernadette, rolling her eyes. "I'm not used to dates going badly. Usually the guy buys me a few drinks and then we have sex. Sometimes it lasts a while, other times not so much." Putting on her protective goggles, Penny pouted in thought. "I've never dated someone who I was friends with first. It feels like we've been taking it slow for a _really _long time - but at the same time I still wanna not rush things like I have before. It's just so _annoying _and frustrating when things keep going wrong! I mean, is it like, a sign? Are we just... not meant to have sex and stay friends?"

"Maybe the world is simply testing you." Bernadette shrugged.

"Yeah well, the world better stop testing me because I'm getting seriously pissed off." Penny groaned.

"You'll probably be laughing about it all one day. I'm sure you'll have sex tonight. Otherwise there's always your little toy and Leonard's headshots to pull you through."

"Hey, Bernadette, put your head right in the beam of the laser for me, will you?" Penny glared at her friend.

"I _really _hope you have sex tonight." Bernadette grumbled.

"I thought you were telling me to take it slow? Make up your mind!" Penny snapped. When Bernadette simply shrugged, she gave a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. I just - I'm used to this being _easy_. I never had to chase the guy or work hard to impress him or get nervous about being the _me _that isn't just this hot blonde."

"Well now you know what it's like for the rest of us - and you _finally _found a guy who likes the slightly dorky, science-loving woman beyond just the hot blonde exterior."

Penny knew Bernadette was right; rarely did the guys she went out with or hooked up with bother to get to know her beyond what they saw on the outside. Yes, it was fun and it was easy; it kept her protected and shielded her from anything beyond a superficial heartbreak. But nobody had ever _tried _to see beyond what she gave them - except Leonard. Yes, he was evidently attracted to the hot blonde she practically served on a plate to every guy - but he was also interested in everything else. The olive-spinning, goggle-wearing, serial-highlighter was just as impressive as the pretty face to him. Was it terrifying? _Absolutely_, Penny thought, as she began the experiment, Bernadette's typing at her laptop a relatively relaxing background noise to her mind. But did she _like _this new paradigm she'd found with Leonard?

Honestly? The answer was yes. A part of her hated it because it was so new and so unusual for her - but it gave her an adrenaline rush, something new to explore. So perhaps it was worth it, all of those minor bumps in trying to progress with their relationship. Maybe they were just a natural part of making something work, just like her experiment - it had taken her two weeks to optimize it before she'd been able to actually begin carrying it out. Maybe it was like that with relationships too.

"You're probably right. Maybe one day we'll be laughing about it." Penny agreed eventually as the timer beeped and she shut off the laser.

"We'll _us _or 'we'll' you and Leonard?"

"Ugh, I don't know - both I guess." Penny shrugged, grabbing her notebook.

"Interesting." Bernadette grinned. "_Good _interesting."

Shaking her head, Penny set about collecting the set of data from her first run of the day. "What about you and Howard? How did that go?"

"Oh..." Bernadette blushed.

Penny's eyes went wide as she caught the red hue on her friend's cheeks. "You _slept _with him!"

"Umm... maybe?"

"Wow! Get in there, Bernadette!" Penny rushed over to give her a hug. "This is so exciting! So I guess he answered the question right?"

"Yup! I guess that means we're... _official_."

"Ooh, this is so exciting! Man, I can't believe you're dating Howard Wolowitz - but hey, I guess he needed a teeny tiny scary blonde to set him straight." Penny giggled. "So how was it?"

"It was good."

"Good? That's all you're giving me?"

"I'm not giving you a detailed breakdown of the evening, Penny!"

"Oh come on! I'm not getting any - I want details! Oh wait. On second thoughts, I don't. It's Howard. Sorry - just - you know... you can keep that to yourself."

* * *

"_This_, my friends, is the lunch of a man who had sex last night." Howard announced smugly as he joined his friends for lunch, placing his tray down proudly.

"Nobody cares, dude." Raj rolled his eyes, tired of hearing him repeat the same phrase with any activity he did that day.

"You're just jealous." Howard shrugged. "I'm guessing last night _wasn't _a success, Leonard, from the look on your face?"

"Shut up." Leonard sneered.

"How's your research going with Amy?" Raj asked Sheldon, steering away from both Howard's and Leonard's relationships - he had been hearing enough about those recently.

"We're only in the initial stages, but it appears to be going well so far." Sheldon reflected. Considering how much he disliked sharing his work and ideas, Amy had a way of making it easier - he didn't know what it was, but it was enjoyable working with her.

"You should totally take her to dinner." Howard said with a smirk.

"Why would I do that?" Sheldon raised a brow.

"Well, you want to have a strong working relationship." Raj began - with Howard's current satisfied state, he didn't trust him to explain this to Sheldon in a way that Sheldon would take to well. "And spending some time together without thinking about the work you're doing could be beneficial to you both. You'll be more comfortable around each other in your personal life and thus it will reflect in your work - bouncing ideas off each other, challenging ideas or even just spending so much time with each other - don't you think?"

"Huh. I _do _enjoy spending time with her - and I want this project to gather a successful conclusion."

"So... is that a yes to the dinner idea?" Raj grinned.

"I will consider it."

"You know they're just trying to set you guys up on a date." Leonard informed Sheldon with a sigh, in no mood to play games when it came to dating right now.

"A _date? _I don't date." Sheldon said firmly, shocked at Leonard's statement.

"If you go to dinner with Amy, that's what it'll be. A date."

"Why can't it just be two friends having dinner?"

"Did you learn absolutely _nothing _from that book we gave you?" Howard frowned.

"I hated that book." Sheldon scowled. "I don't see what going to dinner with a girl has to do with mushing genitals together."

Leonard laughed. "Well... maybe you _should _go to dinner with Amy - in a few years that book might start actually making sense to you!"


	11. 10 French Toast

"That was delicious. Again, thank you, Penny."

"After last night I figured it was worth risking asking for another special cheesecake." Penny smiled over her glass of wine. It had been a slight rush to collect it after her class had finished, get ready and be on time for their dinner date, but it was worth it.

"Good call." Leonard gave a half-chuckle, still slightly embarrassed. "Did you want another slice?"

"No, I'm all done." Penny clarified, putting down her wine glass beside her empty dessert plate. She had very specific plans for what was going to happen next. "You?"

"Yeah, I'm finished."

"Good."

Without warning, she had closed the distance between them on his couch and her lips were on his. Her hands were squeezing his arms before he could even comprehend how quickly this was happening. He wondered if you were supposed to wait an hour after eating to have sex. Or was that just for swimming? Oh well, Penny was the scientist, if she was okay with this then he certainly was.

"I would have eaten so much faster if I knew this was happening next." Leonard giggled as they pulled apart for air.

"Uh-huh." Penny agreed breathily, her hands fumbling to undo the buttons of his shirt.

_I've gone to heaven, _Leonard thought as she attacked him with fresh kisses. "This is so exciting!" Things were _actually _working out for them this evening.

"It's just us in the apartment, right?" Penny asked between kisses.

"Yeah. Sheldon is-"

"I don't care where he is." Penny mumbled. "Do we have time before he gets back?"

Leonard frowned as he pulled back slightly. "Probably not. He has a personal curfew. He'll be back soon." He gave her a long, hard kiss before taking her hands and pulling her up with him. "Your place?"

"Hell yeah."

* * *

Tilting her head to the side, Bernadette smirked. "How was it?"

"How was what?" Penny asked, looking up from her work.

"The sex. How was it?"

"What - how did - how do you know?"

"I've never seen someone work out an equation like that so quickly and you haven't been this relaxed since the day before you began attempting to flirt with Leonard. You literally have a permanent smile on your face." Bernadette grinned, giggling when Penny blushed. "So how was it?"

"It was..." Penny bit her lip, looking around the cafeteria before leaning in slightly. "Kinda awkward."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... we've both been waiting for this for a _really _long time."

"So?"

"_So_ we were both really, you know-"

"Horny?" Bernadette asked gleefully, a little too loud for Penny's liking.

"Shh!" Penny slapped Bernadette's hand. "I'm trying to have this discussion with you, not the entire cafeteria!"

"Sorry, sorry." Bernadette giggled. "Continue."

"It was just... quick. I was done. Then he was done. And that was it."

"Oh. Yikes."

"And then we were lying there and it was just... _so _awkward. I mean, it wasn't _bad_, but it was just... quick. And quick is kinda... embarrassing, and not what you want. And awkward."

"You've been friends for a while, it's bound to be at least a little awkward at first."

"I was very aware that we had been waiting for this to happen and exactly how long we've waited - since we met, since we started dating, since we first kissed..."

"There you have it then. Was is _bad _awkward?"

"No! I mean, I got what I wanted. That was pretty great. I feel refreshed. Even awkward sex is better than... well, none. I mean, do you know how long I waited for this? But it was _just._ S_o. Awkward._"

* * *

"So how was your date last night with Penny?" Howard asked Leonard as they sat down for their lunch.

"It was good." Leonard nodded, with a small reminiscent smile. "We had dinner and cheesecake. Then we had sex. How was dinner with Amy, Sheldon?"

"Wait, wait, what?" Howard held up a hand.

"You heard what you heard." Leonard raised a smug brow. No way was he going to let them know how awkward it had been and how nervous he had felt around her this morning; he was going to bask in all the glory he could get. This kind of glory came rarely enough as it was, he refused to allow his friends to diminish it for him.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I _heard _on my way back to the apartment." Sheldon shuddered uncomfortably.

"So you _actually _took Amy out to dinner? No way, dude!" Raj grinned excitedly.

"I had no choice. Leonard was inviting Penny over and was anticipating coitus. I didn't want to be in the apartment for that. He also told me he'd put a dirty sock in my room while I slept if I was there." Sheldon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Outsmarted by _Leonard_, of all people."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Raj asked.

"Actually, I did. We had a wonderful meal that didn't disrupt my eating schedule - other than location and seat - and the conversation was pleasantly intellectual and fascinating."

"So really you should be _thanking _Leonard." Howard pointed out.

"Why would I _thank _him?"

"Because if he hadn't asked you to leave the apartment you wouldn't have asked Amy if she wanted to go for an impromptu dinner." Howard explained, refraining from adding 'date' onto the end of his sentence. "And saved you from listening to his coital activities."

"I just adjusted my dinner to accommodate the circumstances." Sheldon shrugged. "And I can't eat in a restaurant on my own. What if someone touches my food while I go to the bathroom?"

"You could have asked us." Raj pointed out with a teasing grin.

Sheldon responded with a glare; he hated his friends being right.

* * *

"Oh hey, Amy!" Penny grinned as she saw Amy pause to look around the cafeteria, trying to decide where to sit. "Come join us."

"Really? Can I?" Amy asked nervously, clutching her lunch tray protectively as though it and the opportunity to sit with someone were about to be taken away from her.

"Sure." Bernadette smiled politely, patting the seat beside her.

Settling down beside Bernadette, Amy looked around the cafeteria. "Why aren't you sitting with the guys? I was under the impression that Penny was dating Leonard and Bernadette, Howard."

"We can't gossip _about _the guys in _front _of the guys." Penny explained, stabbing a piece of chicken onto her fork.

"What gossip?" Amy tilted her head. "Why would you gossip about your boyfriends?"

"Not _that _kind of gossip. Just... girl talk stuff." Penny clarified, clearing her throat and giving Bernadette a knowing glance.

"Like what?"

"Penny had awkward sex with Leonard last night."

"_Bernadette_!" Penny kicked her friend beneath the table.

"What? She asked!"

"Fine. Bernadette slept with Howard and he was wearing super tight Batman boxer shorts and apologized for forgetting to change them to match his shirt."

"Hey!"

"What? _She asked_." Penny folded her arms. "So what's your gossip?"

"Uh..." Amy blinked, not quite sure how to respond to either of those things. "Well, I had dinner with Sheldon last night."

"Hold up - you went out for _dinner _with _Sheldon_?" Penny pressed her palms flat into the table, eyes wide with shock.

"Yes."

"Like a date?"

"It wasn't a date. Just dinner."

"_That's _where he was?" Penny sat back and then let out a small laugh. "Good move, Sheldon Cooper, good move. I'm impressed."

"What does that mean?" Amy frowned curiously.

"I just didn't think he'd ever have the balls to do that. Congratulations."

"Oh, I see. Apologies - my 'girl talk' and 'gossip' vocabulary is fairly limited."

"Not a problem. We'll have you fluent in no time!" Bernadette grinned.

* * *

Nervously, Penny knocked on the door of Amy's office. She waited until she was invited to come in before stepping inside and giving her a smile. "Hey, Amy."

"Hello, Penny. How can I help you?" Amy looked up from her laptop. "Did you want to engage in more girl-talk-slash-gossip?"

"Uh, no, actually. Something more serious this time. Can I sit?"

"Of course." Amy gestured to the chair at her desk.

"Okay, thanks." Penny sat herself down, placing her purse on her lap. "So, I'm working on this paper and I know you're really busy and everything but I was hoping you would be able to go through my notes and ideas so far? I feel pretty confident with the experiment I'll have to do but I'm not sure the theory is totally... _there_."

"Could I take a look?" Amy asked when Penny didn't continue further.

"Oh, right! Sure." Penny quickly fumbled to open her purse and extract the file with the work she was doing for the paper and handed it over to Amy. "It's all in here - the experiment proposal, the objectives, and the plan for the paper and an outline of the thesis."

Amy quickly leafed through what was in the folder, scanning her writing and the work she'd done so far. "Great. I'll take a proper look at it tonight and get back to you tomorrow."

"Thank you _so _much. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"I'll leave you to your work," Penny said as she got up, "again, thanks - I just really need someone to have a look at the theory and you're the best one here. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hesitating, Amy watched Penny getting up and heading toward the door before making her decision. "Penny, can I ask you a question?"

"About my work?"

"No. About... Sheldon. You know, girl-talk-slash-gossip style."

"Oh." Penny stopped in her tracks, turning around. "Sure, sure. Though I have to say I don't really know _that _much about him." She explained as she sat down.

"I just wanted to know... is he - does he ever, I don't know, _talk _about me? Am I just getting my hopes up?" Amy asked, deciding to get straight to the point. "I am a very busy person, as you know. Before Sheldon I had very little interest in relationships, given my abysmal track record with them. Although my relationship with Sheldon is primarily academic, I can't help but feel like perhaps there's something more."

"Aww, Amy!"

"It's ridiculous, I know."

"It's _not _ridiculous!"

"It feels like it is." Amy sighed.

"Believe me, it's not. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we're better off alone until we meet someone who proves otherwise. I mean, I thought I was totally over falling for guys and that I wanted to take a break from this whole dating thing and then I met Leonard and that changed very quickly." Penny shrugged, giving Amy a small smile. "But yes, Sheldon does talk about you. Not things most guys would say about a girl, but it's Sheldon - he talks about you in his strange way. And he's very protective about it; he'd try to explode my brain if he found out I was telling you all of this."

"I'm not very good at this. Friends, boyfriends, relationships - I've always operated alone. Somehow this is all happening all of a sudden and it's very confusing for someone like me." Amy admitted. "_Especially _relationships."

"Believe me - I'm not as good as I thought I was either." Penny laughed. "It's _terrifying _actually liking someone. And... it took me a long time to actually tell Leonard that I liked him. I just didn't know what to do. It still scares me, feeling like this; it's like new territory for me. So trust me, Amy, you're not alone here. Just because you navigate it differently and you don't have the same experience, doesn't mean you're the only one in the world who thinks like that and keeps hoping for something more. Sheldon too operates alone - it's a huge step that he asked you to work on the project with him, and an even bigger one that you went to dinner together, even if it's just 'dinner as friends'. I think you have every reason to think there's something more there."

* * *

Leonard woke up momentarily confused, but the music coming from the kitchen told him exactly where Penny was and re-aligned his mind to the events of the night before as he sat up in his bed.

He had forced himself to go over to Penny's apartment after confiding in Sheldon and being convinced that the only way to solve the problem was to talk to her instead of avoiding her - but not after promising Sheldon that if they did "succumb to coitus" that they would stay at her apartment. Talking to Penny had gone _much _better than planned; they had agreed that perhaps they just needed time to adjust and if that didn't work, maybe they were better off just being friends.

And then they had the most amazing sex he'd ever had. The moment they'd made that agreement was the very moment they'd realized that was the exact opposite of what they had wanted, and their lips had crashed urgently, neither of them knowing who exactly had initiated it.

They ended up in Penny's bed, which broke. They moved over to his place, forgetting his promise to Sheldon - even forgetting he was there, considering how loud Penny had been. They'd fallen asleep satisfied and _definitely _more than just friends.

Which landed him to where he was now. Smiling to himself, he swung out of bed and scrambled around for a while trying to find his pajamas before remembering they were still somewhere in Penny's bedroom. Instead he put on a fresh white t-shirt and boxers before picking his robe up from the floor and putting in on and heading out to the kitchen, meeting an unimpressed Sheldon and very perky Penny.

The music he'd heard earlier had stopped. He noticed Penny was making French Toast - he _loved _French Toast, and it wasn't even French Toast day! - and Sheldon was, obviously, kicking up a fuss about all the disruptions she was apparently causing. Leonard didn't even care that Sheldon told him off for the noise he and Penny made the night before, rendering Sheldon unable to sleep properly. Instead, he proudly explained that Penny's bed had broken, so they _had _to go back to 4A to continue.

"You're a homunculus, Leonard, and Penny is no giant - I see no reason for the bed to have broken." Sheldon frowned disapprovingly.

Grinning, Penny put an arm around Leonard. "Aww, my little homunculus."

"I told you not to call me that." Leonard sighed, looking down at the French Toast on his plate.

"Sorry sweetie." Penny smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before turning to address Sheldon. "Why don't you do the math, Sheldon - I'm sure it's at a level even an astrophysicist can understand." Penny smirked at Sheldon's dropped jaw and eye twitch in reaction to her comment about her job. She knew that would make him tick. "The motion and friction caused by coitus on a bed made of-"

"Penny!" Leonard nudged Penny in the side, eyes going wide.

"Please don't continue." Sheldon said, his face pale.

"Well, at least you get it now." Penny shrugged.

"Not only did you disturb my sleep, but you woke me up early with this terrible music, ruin my morning with your... _coitus _talk, and the worst part is you made French Toast on Oatmeal day!"

Rolling her eyes, Penny dropped her arm from around Leonard and picked up her plate and a bottle of syrup. "Whatever, you're impossible." Shaking her head, she made her way back to Leonard's room.

"Really, Leonard? You find attractive a woman who uses the word 'impossible' when she actually means 'improbable'?"

"Yes." Leonard said simply, giving a small shrug before grabbing a plate and the sugar tin before making his way back to the bedroom.

* * *

"Penny... I'm not sure I want to ask you this, but as a friend I feel obliged. Did you know you have something on your chest? And... what is it?" Bernadette asked as they sat down in the cafeteria for a morning coffee before the day began and Penny removed her jacket.

"What?" Penny looked down with a frown to find whatever it was offending Bernadette, bursting into a grin as she located it. "Oh! That's just some syrup."

"Messy eater?" Amy asked sympathetically.

"No, just a really fun morning in bed involving Leonard, French Toast, syrup and sugar." Penny shrugged, blushing slightly but her grin wide.

Bernadette giggled as she watched Penny smugly stir in her sugar. "So I'm guessing the awkward part is over, huh?"

"Yup."

"I'm sorry, is this the awkward sex you were talking about yesterday?" Amy raised a brow.

"No longer awkward." Penny confirmed. "But yes."

"Okay." Amy nodded. "Would you like a napkin to clean it off?"

"I don't think a napkin is how she intended for it to be cleaned off." Bernadette laughed.

"A napkin would be great." Penny nodded, taking the one Amy was offering her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Amy smiled. "I have to say, when you invited me to coffee I didn't think it would be particularly interesting, but I was wrong."

"Why wouldn't it be interesting?"

"Oh, it's nothing against either of you - I just felt perhaps conversation so early on in the day would be rather redundant, given that there is normally not much to talk about of the day yet."

"We don't just talk about the _current _day." Penny explained. "It's not like, a rule. We can talk about ten years ago if we really want to."

"It's just that usually when I overhear morning conversations, people only ever talk about what they did that morning. Sometimes the night before, now I come to think of it." Amy looked at Penny and Bernadette nervously. "Forgive me; I'm not accustomed to these social situations. I don't normally get invited to talk to people in the morning."

"Don't worry, I didn't either before I met Penny." Bernadette smiled kindly at Amy over her coffee. "When I started at the Cheesecake Factory I used to think she was weird for telling me about something that happened the week before. I thought it was because it was the morning and she hadn't had coffee so her mind wasn't in the right place yet."

"To be fair, that's still a viable excuse." Penny laughed. "Well how about we make this a thing then, Amy. Coffee before the academic day begins."


	12. 11 The Lab

"O-kay, so something awkward just happened and I'm telling you because you know me and you know Leonard and I know you work very closely with my Ph.D. supervisor." Penny said quickly the moment she had stepped into Amy's office and closed the door.

"Umm... okay, what's going on?" Amy asked, stepping away from her whiteboard. She had become used to Penny's ever increasing frequent visits to her office without invitation - although she still preferred the principle of knocking, she did enjoy having her drop by, almost like a friend.

"Okay... I was in the lab and I invited Leonard to come and see how the experiment was going and we kinda ended up... you know... making out and I guess things were going _really _well 'cause I started taking my shirt off," Penny laughed awkwardly before biting her lip nervously when Amy didn't respond, "anyway, umm, so... I was taking my shirt off. And then I realized that I hadn't locked the door because... Dr. Bailey walked in."

"_Dr. Bailey _walked in?" Amy's eyes went wide.

"Yep." Penny nodded, pursing her lips.

"While you were..." Amy cleared her throat.

"Topless. Yes."

"Okay." Amy nodded thoughtfully, sitting down at her desk. "Well, fortunately Dr. Bailey and I work very closely so I am able to do some damage control. I doubt she will find it funny, but she may be able to empathize."

"Uh... empathize?"

"Yes, empathize. It means-"

"I know what it means! But what do _you _mean?"

Amy looked around the room as though checking for people listening in on the conversation, despite it only being her and Penny in the room. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"Alright." Amy had to admit that she was pretty excited about sharing some gossip. Did this mean Penny was a friend? Friends told their friends other peoples secrets in confidence; this was one of those moments, right? In fact, _best _friends did that - you told secrets to _best _friends. "Once, back when Dr. Bailey and I first started here, I arrived for our meeting together for our first project together fifteen minutes early. I didn't think anybody would be in the room so I just walked in and she was making out with her husband."

"_What_?!"

"You heard correctly."

"No _way_!" Penny's eyes grew wide, as did the grin on her face.

"Yes. He is a very nice man - he's part of the Chemical Engineering department. He also has an _excellent _tushy." Amy cleared her throat awkwardly. "But, umm, yes, I can make sure Dr. Bailey doesn't get the wrong idea."

Holding back a giggle, Penny smiled gratefully at Amy. "Thank you."

"Although you could tell her yourself."

"No! I mean, yeah, I could, but... she won't believe me. She'll think I'm just making up an excuse. Nobody ever believes me anyway."

"That's not the real reason you don't want to tell her." Amy folded her arms.

Sighing, Penny looked down at her feet for a while as her face relaxed slightly. "Look, I'm not very good with... this. The relationship thing. It's easy for me to say I want to sleep with someone - most of the time I'll just go and tell them. But when I actually... _like _someone, I don't know how to explain that. Not to myself, not to the person, not to my supervisor. So I just show them _physically_." She emphasised the last word to make it clear what she meant. Looking up at Amy, she gave a tiny shrug. "I know how it sounds. But I don't want her thinking of me like that - my work means a lot to me and I'm not like you or Sheldon or the guys; I'm going to need a lot of help during my time here. I don't want her thinking less of me or that I'm not taking my doctoral studies seriously. So can you just... please make sure she understands that I just... you know-"

"Penny, I get it." Amy assured her. "I'll talk to her. Just... don't do it again."

* * *

"So what do you think?" Amy asked anxiously once Sheldon had put down the paper she'd handed to him for their project. "It's only a starting point, of course, but I didn't want to dive straight in without your approval that I'm on the right track with the astrophysics side."

"It's a good start." Sheldon nodded, passing the paper back to Amy. "From what we've done so far on this project, I don't see any faults or errors."

"You don't?"

"No. Everything just needs expanding on, but that will come in time as we delve deeper into this. We'll have to run some experiments of course, to support the thesis - I think that will really help."

"Wow. I was prepared for you to tell me everything is wrong." Amy raised her brows, trying not to think about the fact that she'd be spending time in a lab with Sheldon. Just the two of them... this was one hell of a collaboration. But that wasn't something to focus on right now.

"Why?"

"Well... I've heard from many colleagues that you're often quick to shoot down their work." Amy admitted.

"That's because it's wrong. You're very intelligent and you have a solid understanding of even the astronomical theory that is required for this project; I have no reason to 'shoot down' your work."

"Oh." Amy felt a small smile tugging on her lips. "Thank you, Sheldon."

"You're welcome." Sheldon replied uncertainly, not exactly sure what she was thanking him for. All he'd done was inform her that her work wasn't incorrect. "Would you like to come over and watch Battlestar Galactica with me tonight?"

"Uh..." Amy felt her heart rate increase rapidly and her cheeks flush. "Are you inviting me over to your apartment?"

"Yes. I think you would enjoy it - and we could discuss our project." Sheldon smiled. "Besides, Leonard is going to dinner with Penny tonight and ordering a whole pizza just for myself is pretty redundant. Most of it will just go to waste which would be a shame."

"O-okay." Amy stammered. The lab _and _his home? She didn't care that his invitation was based on his roommate abandoning him for dinner; the fact that there was an invitation was enough for her. More than enough, actually. "I'll be there."

* * *

"You're a little further behind than I had expected," Dr. Karen Bailey sighed as she handed Penny back her work.

Giving a guilty nod, Penny bit her lip. "I know. I'm sorry."

"The basic work is all there; it's up to standard and apart from a few small errors there is very little to fault at this stage. What you've done so far is very impressive, even the theory you said you were struggling with." Karen commended Penny with a small smile.

"Thank you."

"It's just that I had expected you to be further ahead than this, Penny. Perhaps it doesn't seem this way right now, but eventually that's going to pile up and you'll wish you had spent more time on it before when you end up spending an entire fortnight awake to catch up." Karen raised her brows. "Believe me, I've been there. Sometimes I still fall behind too. It's the nature of our work. But right now you should be prioritizing."

"I always have this problem; I get very easily distracted." Penny admitted. "At the time I think I'm balancing everything well and then suddenly my academic work kicks me in the ass."

"We all think that way. Some people are just better at getting the balancing act right faster than the rest of us. Just remember; no matter how much you need the money, you spread out the selling of cheesecakes and barbecue burgers over shorter periods but more days and have more hours per day to focus on your doctorate work. If anything, you can pick up as many shifts as you want during the holidays and after your studies. You can't do that with a Ph.D."

"The way my manager talks to me you'd think you can just pick up a Ph.D. at any time." Penny rolled her eyes. "Probably why he doesn't have any form of degree."

"There you have it. You know what you need to do, Penny."

"Yeah." Penny nodded slowly. "I guess now at least you've told me I'm aware of it."

"Exactly. And like I said, the work is very good. The more time you put in, the better it will be."

"It's really weird. I love being in the lab. It used to be the one place I could escape to and just... find something to keep me interested for hours on end. Sometimes I hate writing about it afterwards but it's worth it because the experiments themselves are so exciting." Penny's eyes lit up as she spoke. "And now there's someone I get to share that stuff with and tell them all about it. Whenever I did these little experiments I was really private about them; I'd get really protective if my Mom asked what I was doing or my friends asked what I'd made. But now... I kind of like getting to share it with somebody. But it takes away from the time I spend actually _doing _the work. I feel like I could spend hours explaining what I do if someone wants to listen."

Karen looked at Penny over her glasses. "I'm assuming this is that guy, right?"

"Oh." Penny blushed. "Y-yeah, it is. Sorry."

"No, that's okay. I'm glad you're passionate about your experiments - that's always a good thing, especially since you're interested in experimental physics. Just keep that passion in the labs for your _physics _experiments, okay?"

* * *

"So I heard you and Leonard did the nasty in one of the labs the other day." Howard smirked and wiggled his eyebrows as he sat down opposite Penny, his tray clattering slightly on the table in his enthusiasm to interrogate her.

Rolling her eyes, Penny stabbed at her food. "That is none of your business."

"Leonard is my friend and my girlfriend is _your _friend, so that makes it a little my business."

"Your interrupting my early lunch is also my business and I may just stab a fork in _your _business if you don't shut up." Penny threatened. "Who told you anyway?"

"Bernadette. But we could already tell because Leonard looked really happy all afternoon. We figured something of the sort must have happened." Howard shrugged. "Then Bernadette pinched me for asking if she'd have sex with me in my lab."

"You're gross."

"How is that gross? You did it with Leonard in a lab."

"You're a microbiologist. Nobody wants to have sex around yeast and stuff."

"We don't _only _have yeast. Why do people think we just play with yeast all day?"

"Well, yeast is probably the least gross thing in there. So yes, it is and you are gross." Penny gave him a victorious smile. "My point has been made."

"My girlfriend could get a yeast infection but Leonard could get castrated by a laser." Howard pointed out.

"Sure, if I aim the laser in that direction."

"Shouldn't Leonard be the one pointing the laser?" Howard chuckled.

Rolling her eyes, Penny kicked Howard's leg beneath the table. "Shut up."

"Ow!"

"You deserved it!"

"Whatever, I'm having so much fun with this. I never knew Leonard was the kind of guy who would get down and dirty in a physics lab. Though I didn't think you were that kind of girl either but... it figures."

"It _figures_? What is _that _supposed to mean?" Penny asked incredulously, although she already knew exactly what Howard meant.

Eyes wide, Howard panicked. "Nothing."

"I know you're probably really enjoying the whole hot blonde scientist in a lab coat thing and the idea of sex in a lab is some weird fantasy of yours. But I'm not just sleeping with Leonard in the lab for the hell of it. Guys look at me the way you look at literally every girl _all _the time. When I start talking about physics to them, they're not interested. Leonard looks at me like I'm telling him the most amazing thing in the world. _That _is... is really something amazing for someone like me. So you can just shut up, okay? And maybe consider treating Bernadette like the scientist she is when she talks about _her _work rather than just focusing on your hot blonde girlfriend. She is much more than that and if you perhaps take a moment to appreciate her, you'll realize that for yourself. Because believe me, we've heard it all before. You want your relationship with Bernadette to work, treat her like she deserves to be treated." Penny raised her brows at him. "Okay?"

"Okay." Howard agreed quickly. He hadn't expected a lecture from Penny, but it certainly worked: teasing Leonard was evidently out of the question now. And it certainly explained why Bernadette was so put off whenever he made 'engineering' jokes when he wanted sex.

"I'm glad we're on the same page." Penny rolled her eyes. "I want to punch you but Bernadette is my friend so I will do my best not to punch you for literally everything you've said today."

"Why are you punching Howard?" Amy asked, having just approached their table with her tray.

"He's disgusting." Penny moved her books out of the way so Amy could place her food down.

Amy nodded in approval. "Agreed. Did you talk to Dr. Bailey?"

"Apparently I'm a little behind with my work." Penny sighed.

Howard held back his Leonard-related comment on why Penny was behind on her work, stuffing a forkful of food into his mouth to help.

"It's okay, it happens to everyone. You want to come by my office after you're finished today? It'll be a quiet place for you to get something done."

"I was gonna go work in Leonard's office..." Penny bit her lip. She had been looking forward to seeing Leonard once she had finished her final class of the day, and she _did _get work done when she was there. But she knew she would probably get a lot more done without his presence distracting her. "But I guess your office _would _be more productive. Thank you, Amy."

"Anything to help my bestie!" Amy grinned.

Penny's eyes widened and she looked to Howard for help. Bestie? That was fast. Howard simply shrugged and smirked in amusement. Gulping, Penny shrugged her shoulders up to her ears. "Yay?"


	13. 12 Distraction

Usually, Penny's distraction in the library was gossiping non-stop with Amy and Bernadette or members of her project groups. Amy and Bernadette were probably gossiping right that moment, but Penny didn't notice.

Biting on her finger, Penny inhaled sharply as she watched Leonard bend forward, her eyes fixated on his tushy - one she had proclaimed cute, perfect and hers. Whoever had messed up the book return machine was her new savior as it gave her an excuse to admire Leonard at work. At first he'd just been trying to reconfigure the system, his hands on either side of the machine while he waited for it to respond, pronouncing the muscles in his arms - and it was hot in the library, so he wasn't even wearing a hoodie or jacket. But then he'd evidently decided there could be an issue with the machine itself and started to work manually, and now he was bending over. The guy helping him with the mechanics of it might as well have been invisible for all she knew. It was Penny's favorite ever time she'd spent in the library, and the hardest she'd ever concentrated in her life.

"Penny!"

"Hmm."

Rolling her eyes, Amy leaned forward and flicked Penny's forehead before repeating "_Penny_!"

"Ow!" Penny's hand shot up to swat Amy's away from her forehead, scowling. "What the hell!"

"Do you wanna rejoin the conversation or are you just gonna keep staring at Leonard's ass?" Bernadette asked.

Tilting her head to the side, Penny smirked. "I think I'm gonna keep staring at Leonard's ass."

"What, you don't do enough of that at home?" Bernadette shook her head in disapproval.

"No!" Penny sighed dramatically, as though she was answering a question much more depriving. "He's got some showcase with his acting class that he's been rehearsing for and I'm trying to get all this work done and and serve enough cheesecakes to pay my rent and bills. We haven't spent time together in _so long_."

"So?" Amy raised a brow.

"_So _I haven't had sex in like two weeks. And Dr. Bailey keeps supervising my lab time and I can't exactly do him in the middle of the cafeteria in front of all you guys." Penny explained, slumping back in her chair.

Grimacing, Bernadette patted Penny's hand sympathetically. "That's too bad."

"When is his showcase?" Amy asked.

"This weekend."

"In which case the logical thing to do would be get all your work done now so you're free over the weekend to spend time with him and go to his showcase." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah but his ass is _right there_."

"We noticed when your eyes didn't move for like ten minutes." Bernadette giggled.

"God, I feel like I'm seventeen again pretending I'm too sick to do PE class so I can watch Aaron Stocker do the burpee test."

"Well you sure as hell aren't too sick to be doing your work." Bernadette pushed Penny's pen into her hands.

"Aaron Stocker doing burpees seems so lame in comparison to this." Penny tilted her head again in contemplation. "Also a terrible kisser, but I'll let him off. We were seventeen."

"Seriously, do some work." Amy tapped Penny's notepad.

"Excuse me, I saw you staring at Sheldon for like ten minutes while he was explaining something about your collaborative thing in the canteen! Your tea went cold!"

"I..." Amy paused and twisted her lips. "Didn't know you saw that. He is very captivating when he talks about his field."

Bernadette rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm gonna move to another table."

* * *

"Six o'clock on the dot! Very efficient." Amy grinned as she opened the door to her apartment.

"That's not a coincidence, I waited outside for twenty minutes." Sheldon said as he took his jacket off. "Where should I put this?"

"Just on the arm of the couch is fine." Amy nodded toward the couch before returning to the kitchen. "I've printed the paper so far and written out a few experiment proposals as well as some questions I have on your side of the paper. They're all on the coffee table if you wanted to start taking a look through all of that."

"Of course." Sheldon nodded, sitting down and picking up Amy's paper-in-progress before he suddenly sat up straight and sniffed. "Something smells very familiar."

"That would be dinner." Amy smirked.

Sheldon's eyes widened as he turned to look at Amy in the kitchen. "Spaghetti with little hot dogs cut up in it?"

"Correct. Your favorite." Amy confirmed, getting two plates out from the cupboard. "It'll be ready in a couple minutes by the looks of it."

"How did you know it's my favorite?"

"I asked Leonard." Amy admitted. "I didn't know what to make. I know you usually have... Chinese food, I think, but-"

"Actually it's Indian food, but I much prefer this." Sheldon grinned excitedly, his legs bouncing slightly. "Oh, I _knew _collaborating with you on this project was worth it."

Lowering the heat on the stove, Amy looked at Sheldon seriously. "Can I ask you something?"

"You may."

"Is this just... are we _just _colleagues working on a paper?" Amy asked, her heart pounding in her chest. Trying to word this in a way which wouldn't use the word 'relationship' or scare Sheldon in any way was more difficult than she had anticipated. "Or are we... are you and I more than just two colleagues?"

"Of course we're more than just colleagues. I'm about to eat dinner in your house. I don't do that with people who are just my colleagues." Sheldon raised a brow.

"Oh." Amy smiled slightly. "Okay, good. That's... that's good to know. Thank you, Sheldon."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, face scrunched up in utter confusion after almost a minute of watching Penny pulling various faces at her laptop screen.

"I'm _bored_!" Penny groaned, twirling her pen round on the table.

"You're supposed to be concentrating!"

"I was! Look, I wrote like two pages!" Penny pointed out, scrolling through the Word Document on her laptop. "Then I finished my coffee and started planning what I'm gonna wear on Saturday night and then I got annoyed because I need to have finished this by Saturday afternoon but I couldn't concentrate enough to get back to work."

"When Bernadette gets here she can shout at you." Amy shook her head.

"Oh just because you got to have Sheldon over for dinner last night." Penny rolled her eyes.

"Yeah that was kinda awesome." Amy grinned. "He said we're not just colleagues."

"Ooh, saucy." Penny nodded, brows raised high in amusement.

"Right?" Amy bounced eagerly in her seat.

"To be honest I'm that excited too to be more than just colleagues with Leonard." Penny slumped forward, leaning her arms against the desk and her head in her hands. "All I want is to spend an evening with him. Have dinner together, cuddle on the couch..."

"Have naked fun in bed all night..."

"Yeah, that too. But I really miss all the other stuff. At first it _was _literally just... _needing _to have sex because believe me, I miss that a _lot_, but... I know he's busy with his showcase rehearsals and I'm serving food and studying so it's not his fault or my fault but I just... miss him." Penny sighed. "I'm turning into one of those sad needy girlfriends."

"You think _you're _sad and needy? Have you met me?" Amy raised a brow.

"Aw, you're not sad and needy. Just... dealing with a guy who is ve-ery slow."

* * *

Three sharp knocks followed by "Leonard," once... twice... three times.

Leonard peeked an eye open in confusion. "Yes?" He'd gotten back not long ago and washed up and gone straight to bed. It was almost eleven, so Sheldon being awake seemed very out of character and deemed his decision to respond.

"I have to ask you a question."

"Uh... now?" Leonard frowned.

"Well, I suppose it could wait..." Sheldon began.

"_Yes_." Leonard cheered quietly. He would really much rather be dreaming about Penny than talking to Sheldon at this hour.

"But since I'm still awake, I think it has to be now." Sheldon continued.

"Oh man." Leonard groaned, sitting up. Switching on his night light, he felt for his glasses. "Come on in."

Sheldon stepped into Leonard's room, giving him a meek smile. "Thank you." He looked around and frowned. "Your clothes are on the floor."

"I'm too tired to put them away properly. What do you want?"

"It's about... Amy." Sheldon said, putting his hands behind his back nervously.

"Uh, alright." Leonard wasn't sure how he was going to be of any help, given that he didn't know Amy _that _well. Surely Penny would be the better person to go to for this?

"The other day she asked if we were more than colleagues. Obviously I said yes, because why else would I be at her apartment while she was making me spaghetti with little hot dogs cut up in it?"

"You're welcome for that, by the way. She was going to make a chicken dish."

"That wouldn't have be so bad, but I did enjoy that dinner very much, so yes - thank you, I suppose." Sheldon gave Leonard a small nod. "Now, I'm assuming she meant friendship, because anything else would have to have been discussed in prior."

"Amy may be a little... crazy, but yes, I doubt she meant anything other than colleagues and friendship."

"Good, good." Sheldon bobbed his head a few times before clearing his throat as Leonard watched him curiously. Usually he was good with just saying what was on his mind, because he was always right, but currently he felt out of his depth and the words simply weren't coming to him. "Do you think... should I ask Amy... on a date?"

Leonard grinned, suddenly more perky than he was sleepy. "Do you want to go on a date with Amy?"

"Well... the logical evidence of my mind would suggest so." Sheldon admitted quietly.

"Then ask her on a date."

"But how?"

"You say 'Amy, would you like to go on a date with me?' and wait for her to respond." Leonard chuckled. This was the first time someone had gone to him for relationship advice. Aside from it keeping him awake when he wanted to be sleeping, he was very happy with himself in that moment. "Then you return to me for the next step."

"But Sheldon Cooper doesn't ask girls on dates!"

"Firstly, Amy is a _woman_. Big difference there, buddy. Second of all, maybe he _does _and he's just been waiting to ask the _right _woman."

"But I don't want to have coitus with her. It's icky and noisy and, from overhearing you and Penny, involves the use of the word 'God' a lot which is something I find very disturbing."

"You don't have to have coitus with her! For the foreseeable future, at least!"

"The foreseeable-"

"The point is," Leonard cut in quickly, "you're asking her on a date. That's all. All you have to do is ask her a question and receive her answer."

Sheldon frowned in thought. "That seems simple enough."

"It's easier said than done, but... I did it, so you can do it too."

"Hmm."

"If it helps, I reckon she'd say yes."

"Why would that help?"

"Umm... reassurance that you won't get rejected and that she also wants to go on a date with you?"

"I suppose so. But it also puts a bit of extra pressure on, Leonard, and I don't need that."

"I'm sorry. I'll leave you to it. Sleep on it, Sheldon." Leonard took his glasses off and lay back down.

"We can discuss this further in the car on the way to work tomorrow morning. You look dreadfully tired." Sheldon observed.

"Thanks." Leonard rolled his eyes. Sheldon was ever the charmer.

* * *

"Aren't you going to eat that, Penny?" Amy asked.

"Nuh-uh." Penny shook her head dismissively, her eyes not leaving her laptop.

"Why not? You haven't even touched your dinner! Not even a bite!" Bernadette exclaimed, wondering if she should be worried about Penny's lack of eating that day.

"I want to eat my dinner off of Leonard's naked body tonight and I just have two more paragraphs to read through before I can submit this work." Penny mumbled, brow furrowing.

Raj and Howard lowered their plates with frowns as Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Ignoring that inappropriate dinner comment, I sincerely hope you're still paying for your share of the food."

"There's a twenty in my purse."

"Shotgun not getting it from her purse. I don't trust what's in there." Sheldon said quickly.

"Shh." Penny waved a hand at Sheldon. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"It's bad enough that you're forcing us to go to Leonard's showcase tonight, but now you're trying to _shush _me in my own apartment?" Sheldon raised a brow.

"_Two. Paragraphs!" _Penny spat at Sheldon.

Raj whispered something in Howard's ear and the pair burst out giggling. "You are so right!" Howard laughed as they glanced at Penny.

Penny looked up at them, glaring for a few seconds before slamming her laptop shut and shuffling off down the corridor to Leonard's room.

"See you in two paragraphs time!" Amy called happily.

"At least she's finishing her work." Bernadette shrugged, before turning to Howard and Raj. "And you two - _behave yourselves_."

"What did we do?" Howard asked innocently.

"You know what you did." Bernadette hissed. "And Sheldon, empty your pockets."

"Why?" Sheldon sat up in shock, trying to hide the twitch in his eye. "My pockets are empty."

"You've never been to one of Leonard's showcases and have expressed your dislike in attending this one with us. How many game devices have you pocketed to get you through this showcase?"

"None." The twitch strengthened.

"Don't make me make Howie remove them from your pockets." Bernadette said, voice low.

Sighing, Sheldon stood up and headed to his desk to begin extracting the various gaming devices from his pockets. "This is going to be the worst night of my life."

* * *

Leonard could only chuckle as he sat back down after getting his hair sorted out by the trainee stylist helping out with the showcase, finding ten new messages from Penny. They had been texting on and off over the past few weeks, stealing small moments in each others company when they could between their busy schedules. He was excited that he'd get to see her tonight; they had arranged so that she had the weekend off with him to finally spend some time together properly that wasn't car journeys to and from the university or eating meals with their friends. The few times they _had _managed to be alone together had been far and few, with both of them opening up about their stresses getting in the way of anything else they would prefer to be doing.

Excited as he was, Leonard couldn't help but feel nervous. This was the first time Penny would see him really acting - she'd seen him rehearsing in his apartment, sometimes presenting her his monologues, but never like this. He was going to be on the little makeshift stage with no room to mess up or receive her reassurance that he was doing fine. She was going to be in the dark, judging his talents and skills. Positively, he hoped, but he couldn't help but worry that she would have to come up with a lie about her opinions on his acting abilities.

Not only would Penny be there, but his friends would be there too. Even Sheldon! And although it was nerve wracking, having familiar faces in the audience would be reassuring. Penny had sent him a long-winded text about how much effort she had gone to to get Sheldon to attend that opening night of his showcase. He felt honored, almost blessed, that Penny had insisted on everybody going to see him and put in the effort and enthusiasm. Nobody had done that before for him; his mother and father had watched his school plays as a social convention of supporting their offspring but had never congratulated him on such achievements.

Opening Penny's messages, he grinned at her five-message celebration of managing to submit her work just in time to be free for the weekend. He had told her not to because she'd get bored, but she'd decided she'd attend both nights of the showcase. He supposed at least that way he'd have no excuse to slack off on one night.

After her celebratory message was one that seemed to have a very quick change of tone two sentences in.

_**So excited to see u tonight! I'll be the one cheering and clapping the loudest :) :) Tonight we're eating dinner off each other (dw, ordered for us &amp; put in fridge, didnt wanna eat cos of essay editing - worth it) and spending any moment that isnt ur showcase in bed together xxxx**_

As if to prove her point, the remaining four messages were photos of herself on his bed with her laptop (he could see her 'Essay Successfully Submitted' email on the screen in the first one) ranging from fully clothed to fully unclothed. It was hot to the point that he didn't even bother questioning why she was in his room in the first place.

Clearing his throat and blushing a deep red, he quickly exited the messages app and locked his phone. He could no longer tell if he was more excited for the showcase or for her weekend plans, only that she was involved with both those things.


	14. 13 Tradition

"Mom. This is a really bad time to be calling." Penny hissed into the phone, her unwillingness to talk evident in her tone.

"I'm sorry, I'll be quick - Dad and I just wanted to know if you're coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year!" Meryl chirped into the phone, having already gotten into the swing of her weekend and thus keen to get things organized.

Rolling her eyes, Penny bit down on her lip and rolled away from the sleeping Leonard. "I told you, I don't think I can. I have work and stuff."

"Well if you can't afford it and that's the problem then we're happy to pay for you. Bridget's coming down too this year!"

"That's great but I just have - I think I'll be spending some time in the lab because there'll be less people and..." Sighing, she sat up slightly, swinging her legs off the edge of the bed. "I thought it would be nice to spend it with Leonard."

"Ooh. So is this Leonard thing serious?" Meryl's eyes were shining with excitement and Penny could tell they were from the sing-song element in her voice.

Glancing behind her at Leonard, who was evidently still enjoying _his _dream, and then bringing a hand up to the mark on her neck, Penny grinned. "Oh yeah, I'd say it's serious. I mean not like _serious _serious." She said quickly, a panic setting in as it did whenever the idea of commitment came up. "But like... definitely not _not _serious."

"I see." Meryl laughed - fortunately she had grown accustomed over the years to her daughters rambling and uncertainty of expression. "Well when you _do _come up we wanna meet him."

"Uh, yeah that's not happening anytime soon." Penny frowned as she scratched a patch of dried sauce from between her breasts; she had, after all, been very serious when she'd told Leonard they were eating their re-heated dinners off each others naked bodies.

"Shame. I stalked him on Facebook, he seems like a decent person."

"Mom!" Penny nearly shouted this, her eyes wide. "You can't just stalk my boyfriend on Facebook!"

"Yes I can! You're not here to stop me!" Meryl pointed out with a laugh.

"That's it, I'm hanging up and going back to bed."

"Going back to bed? In the middle of the day?"

"Yes. I had a long night." Penny said quickly, before hanging up her phone before her mother could comment further.

Placing her phone down, she carefully shifted herself back under the covers, pleased that Leonard hadn't awoken. Grinning, she gently clambered over him to his other side, wiggling into the comfort of his arms so his warm chest pressed against her back. If his dream was _that _good, she wanted to be a part of what was going on too.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Amy asked cautiously, slightly freaked out by how intently Sheldon kept staring at her that afternoon.

"Yes." Sheldon said in a low voice, quickly turning around before she could see the twitch in his eye.

Frowning, Amy glanced over the papers spread out on the coffee table. "Did I get something wrong or mess up the theory or something?"

"No, the work is perfectly fine." Sheldon said with a slight sigh; as much as he liked Amy, he secretly wished she would do something wrong so he could regain his sense of consistent superiority in his work. He hated not being the best.

"Are you upset with me because I picked the avocado out of my meal and left it on the side of the plate?" Amy asked, determined to find out why he was acting so strange. "Because I'm allergic to avocado. I wasn't just messing around with my food."

"Oh." Sheldon raised a brow momentarily in surprise. "I did not know you were allergic to avocado. My apologies."

"It's alright." Amy shrugged. Leaning back into the couch, she tried to think of something - anything - that may have upset him that afternoon.

In the silence, Sheldon tried to gear himself up. _If Leonard can do it, you can do it. You can do anything Leonard can do and more, _he told himself. But it didn't help that this was something he had no experience in whatsoever. Even just talking to a girl that wasn't related to him was difficult; from the females he had worked with and accommodated briefly in his life for academic reasons, he had learned that he tended to cross conversational boundaries that he thought were just polite considerations of biological gender differences. At least Amy had taken lightly to his offer of bowel-regulating yoghurts.

This gave him a small ray of hope. Amy wasn't like the other females he knew. He _could _do this. Couldn't he?

"Amy." Sheldon began, turning to face her abruptly. He refused to show how much his heart was racing and his palms were sweating from nerves, so did his best to adopt a neutral expression and his voice steady. Leonard had once taught him a 'neutral stance' he used in acting to calm his nerves before getting into role, and he'd never tell Leonard but Sheldon often found it useful to adopt this stance when he needed to regain himself. _Here goes_. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

The words were out. There was no turning back now. Sheldon hadn't felt this anxious since the first night Leonard had moved in and he was convinced something bad would happen - he hated change - and had been awake for hours waiting for Leonard to go to bed because he was very aware of the lights still on in the hallway and noises beyond his own bedroom.

Amy's face went from looking like she was going to cry to pure excitement in a matter of seconds - but her decision was made instantly. Her voice went soft as she stared at him, a smile on her face, and uttered an appreciative "yes" in response.

"Yes?"

"Yes."

There was a heavy pause. "Alright then."

"O-kay!" Amy grinned before jumping up. "I will be _right _back."

Before Sheldon had time to respond, Amy had run out of the apartment and was knocking on the door of Penny's apartment. Amy had expected for her to answer quickly, but she found herself knocking louder and louder before Penny finally opened the door, wrapped in her comforter. She looked less than pleased.

"This is a really bad time. That knocking is really off-putting."

"Sheldon just asked me out on a date."

"_What_?!" Penny almost forgot to keep a hand on the comforter around her body as her eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! Just now! He just asked me!"

"No way! Congratulations!" Penny grinned, holding an arm out to hug her.

"I know we're close, bestie, but I'm guessing I don't want to hug you right now." Amy pointed out.

"Ooh yeah, good idea." Penny nodded quickly, clearing her throat.

"Hey, Leonard," Amy called into the apartment.

She heard him call back a "hey" from the direction of the bedroom.

"Well... I should get back." Penny smiled. "Catch me up on Monday over coffee!"

"Ooh, I'll keep notes in a little diary so I can tell you _everything_!"

"Great! See ya." Penny nodded, giving a quick wave before shutting the door. Shuffling back to the bedroom, she dropped the comforter to the floor and got back into bed. "Did you hear that?" She asked Leonard. "Sheldon asked Amy out!"

"Ah, so he followed my advice. Good choice, Sheldon Cooper, good choice." Leonard smirked. He was totally the go-to guy for girl advice - at least, that's what he'd decided and was going to go with for approximately the rest of his life.

"You _knew _he was gonna ask her out?" Penny hit Leonard's arm.

"Yup. I didn't want to tell you in case you told Amy."

"Hey! I am a _really _good secret keeper!"

"Okay." Leonard snorted.

"You want me to get dressed and throw you out?"

"I don't think you'd do that." Leonard chuckled.

Sighing, Penny nodded. "Yeah you're right. Anyway, lets continue."

Pushing the laptop towards Penny, Leonard nodded. "I already picked my pizza, you just need to make up your mind on your toppings."

"I was on the verge of deciding before Amy knocked on the door! Ugh."

* * *

Amy returned to Sheldon's apartment with a bounce in her step, but the moment she saw him she felt awkward. She'd just agreed to go on a date with him. What now? Did she just continue sitting his apartment as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened? Did they immediately start planning their first date? Was the guy supposed to organize all of that, or was it all myth and legend? She simply stood in the doorway of his apartment while they stared at each other at a loss of what to do.

"So... umm, Penny is kind of the expert in this. But I think she's a bit pre-occupied right now." Amy said after a while, clearing her throat.

"Well... what do you want to do?" Sheldon asked, not wanting to admit that he didn't know what to do next either - although he was fairly certain she could already tell without him saying. He wished he'd asked Leonard what he was supposed to do if she said yes.

"I..." Amy looked around the apartment. She didn't _want _to go home to her own apartment now, especially since she didn't have anybody to excitedly discuss what had just happened with over the phone or in person. Suddenly, she remembered the reason she was at his apartment in the first place - their project! "I think I want to continue working on our schedule for the week."

"Alright." Sheldon gulped. That was smooth enough, he thought. No harm done. Cautiously, the pair of them moved over to the couch. Amy respectfully sat one cushion away from him. Trying to busy his mind, he studied the calendar in front of them. "Thanksgiving is on Thursday."

"So it is." Amy nodded. "Penny's birthday is a few days after that."

"Yes, Leonard has marked that on the calendar too." Sheldon sighed as though this were an inconvenience, gesturing to the calendar. "What is your stance on celebrating such things?"

"Thanksgiving? I have dinner with my mother every year. There is always a lot of turkey left over since it is just the two of us. I'm not sure about Penny's birthday because I've never had to celebrate that."

"Well, Leonard is planning on taking Penny to dinner for her birthday so I think just giving her a card will suffice, but it hardly means we should miss a day of work."

"Agreed."

"But, my original point - do you work on Thanksgiving?"

"I don't go into the University, but I like to do a bit of work from home."

"Yes, me too. It's unfortunate that it is considered a _holiday_." Sheldon shook his head. "But we might as well take that day off since we won't have much access to equipment."

"Good idea." Amy nodded, wondering if he was going to ask her to join him for Thanksgiving, however he celebrated it.

"Alright then." Sheldon nodded, pulling towards him the chart they had created for their schedule. "So, this coming week... we could probably fit in some time with the telescope."

Maybe not.

* * *

"You _cannot _invite Penny to Thanksgiving!" Sheldon declared, his voice raised.

"Why not? She's my girlfriend and we always have too much turkey anyway!" Leonard pointed out, brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Have you _seen _the way she eats? There is _nothing _to be thankful for there."

"I don't care how she eats, she's my girlfriend and I invited her to join us for Thanksgiving so just _shut up_."

"You can't just change tradition, Leonard, it's been just the four of us for years. Howard has two dinners and every year we have to let him use our good Antacids. You make the cranberry sauce. Raj makes everything else because he's Indian. I watch the special on TV."

"Yeah well I'm changing it this year. Penny's joining us and she can be the one who carves the turkey correctly."

"Fine, then Amy's joining us too." _Whoa, where did that come from_? Sheldon's eyes went wide and he quickly looked away.

"That's fine with me." Leonard shrugged. "Did you already invite her?"

"No..." Sheldon sat down at his desk with a curious frown. "I hadn't thought about that before. I just... said it."

"Well then you'd best invite her in case she has other plans. Oh and ask Wolowitz if he's inviting Bernadette." Leonard added, sensing a theme. "And check with Raj if he's bringing anyone too."

"What if he cries because he's all alone?"

"I dunno, we'll buy him an extra pie to make up for it."

"At least we're keeping _one _of our traditions."


	15. 14 Got This

With an excited grin on her face, Penny ran down the stairs to the lobby on 2311 North Los Robles. There it was! With a bounce, she collected the parcel addressed to her and sprinted up the steps. She felt like a child at Christmas, but she justified that her birthday was just as exciting as Christmas. Besides, receiving post was also exciting, especially when it was from your parents and they'd paid for it to be delivered at a certain time to ensure her collecting it.

Skipping happily into her apartment, she swung the door shut and settled onto her bed to begin tearing open the parcel. First she pulled out something gift wrapped that weighed and felt like an item of clothing. With a grin, she set it aside - she _had _mentioned a blouse she'd really liked that was a little pricey to buy casually. Next there was a small box which she assumed contained jewelry, and a box that she guessed was the perfume her mother bought her every year for her birthday.

Her first two guesses were correct: a silver bracelet and her annual perfume top-up. However, the clothing made her eyes roll. It wasn't the blouse she wanted, or even a pair of denim pants or a new sweater. She could tell her Dad had chosen this one because it was a brand new Huskers jersey. Didn't she have enough of those already? Sure, she loved the ones she already had, but _another _one? She couldn't tell if her father was still refusing to come completely to terms with the fact that she was indeed a girl or just wanted her to have some home pride with her now that she'd settled into Pasadena.

With an amused chuckle, she got back off her bed to text her parents thanking them for their gifts. She would call them when she got back from her classes. Having already gotten dressed and put on her make-up before collecting her parcel, she got her books ready for the day and waited for Leonard's arrival. She hadn't seen him properly since Thanksgiving, with an influx of late shifts at work obstructing their time together. He was taking her to dinner in the evening as she had firmly stated to her manager that she absolutely refused to work on her birthday. It had been fun to celebrate Thanksgiving with her friends (she even got to carve the turkey! Her father had been so proud when she'd told him over the phone that evening) but she was looking forward to time alone with her boyfriend. It seemed to come and go, their togetherness, and although it was a pain to just see him briefly during that day it did give her something to look forward to.

Finally, Leonard knocked on her door. A little earlier than usual, she noted with a grin as she went to open it.

"Hey, I-"

But her telling Leonard that she just needed to fill up her thermos flask with coffee was evidently something that could wait, as she was cut off by his lips on hers. _Really _on hers - it was like morning sex for the mouth, she thought once they pulled apart for air.

"Wow."

"Happy birthday." Leonard grinned, his eyes shining. "You ready to get going?"

"I, uh," Penny blinked at him, bringing a hand to her mouth briefly. "Yeah. Just need... my coffee. Thank you. I'll just... one second."

* * *

It was Penny's best birthday to date. She had booked herself the whole afternoon in the lab well in advance so she could avoid the boring written work for the day as a treat. Leonard had joined her and to her utter delight he had locked the door, leaving them to completely violate her promise to Dr. Bailey. She popped out with her friends for a couple of hours for drinks before heading back to get ready for dinner. And after dinner, of course, was the _real _celebration back at her apartment. Not the parties she had enjoyed every year where she was the center of attention, but a private party involving just herself and Leonard. Waking up in his arms was just as amazing.

"So then we had breakfast in bed... no, not like that! God! Actual breakfast, Bridge!" Penny laughed down the phone the following evening. "And then I went to my classes. No, I actually got most of the experiment finished yesterday... yeah, I wrote nine pages today! I haven't even double spaced it yet! I know, right? Yeah... yeah... no, I know. But I'm not - I can't afford it. I really need to be working... well yeah, it'll be nice to spend Christmas with Leonard anyway. Considering how last year Kurt's present was telling me he thinks he found someone interested in a threesome I'd be very happy with no presents at all this year. Aww, you don't have to send me one. Of course I'm sending you one! Okay but make sure Dad doesn't get me another bit of sports equipment because I'm really running out of space for all of the stuff he sends me - yeah, he got me the new jersey for my birthday, I guess you'll be getting yours soon too."

A knock at the door announced Leonard with their takeaway food, and he stepped in at Penny's gesture to the coffee table. He smiled and set about getting plates and cutlery so she could finish her phone call.

"Okay I'm gonna go, Leonard's back with our dinner. No I am not his dinner." Penny rolled her eyes, stubbornly jutting out her jaw and blushing slightly. "Shut up. Never! Okay, love you too. Bye!" Hanging up, Penny placed her phone on the kitchen island. "That was my sister."

"Ah, how is she?"

"Inappropriate, hungry and loud."

He chuckled at her list as he sat down. "So... just like you?"

"Hey!" Penny pouted at him. "I am none of those things! Oh, except hungry. I'm very hungry."

"Good, I did just buy you dinner."

"And I'm looking forward to eating it very, very much." Penny assured him. "I have some dessert for us too."

"Ooh, dessert." Leonard wiggled his eyebrows.

"Not _that _kind of dessert." Penny swatted his arm. "They made me another dairy-free cheesecake at work for my birthday. I think they think _I'm _the one with the lactose intolerance. Anyway, it's the one with the strawberries."

"Sounds delicious!"

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment for the cheesecake dessert and the... _dessert_ you'll have having later."

"So I _am _getting _that _dessert?"

"Of course you are, I had an amazing day I want it to end that way too."

* * *

Just seconds after Penny angrily told Sheldon that she doesn't want to play his stupid car game (she'd refrained from using a more offensive word), Sheldon very happily came out with "I'm so excited that your mother is coming to visit, Leonard. She always plays car games with me to stimulate the brain."

"Your mother is coming to visit?" Penny squeaked out. "When?"

"Uh..." Leonard gulped. _Oh crap. That's not a conversation we were meant to be having in the car. _"Uh, umm, soon."

"How soon?"

"She arrives at the airport tomorrow afternoon." Sheldon told her excitedly. "Leonard's taking me to pick her up!"

"Why didn't you tell me your mother is coming to visit?"

"I, umm, because... uh, reasons."

"Such as?"

"She's... uh, you know, my mother. Different. Kind of... you know."

"Beverly Hofstadter is _fantastic._" Sheldon was practically beaming. "She's a neuroscientist-slash-psychiatrist and always takes me for a brain scan. Her papers are _so _interesting and I am _incredibly _jealous of the way she raised Leonard and her two other - notably more successful - children. Just fascinating, absolutely fascinating."

Scrunching her face, Penny could distinctly remember Leonard telling her how much he disliked the way he had been raised by his parents. He'd never really been specific about his mother, just that he hadn't had the warmth and support that many other people had - and she knew people who'd said similar things, so she'd just gone along with that. "Well, she sounds interesting."

"Yeah, she's a hoot." Leonard rolled his eyes.

"How come you didn't tell me? Have you told her you have a girlfriend?"

"I... have not." Leonard mumbled quietly. "But I was going to tell you today, I _swear_!"

"Excuse me, why not? I'm _adorable_!" Penny pouted for good measure, just in case Leonard flashed a look at her in his rear view mirror. It was Sheldon's turn to sit in the front seat so she had been downgraded to the back of Leonard's car, something that wasn't working in her favor in this situation but saving Leonard a lot of punches to the arm.

"That may be so, but she probably won't be so taken to the adorableness."

"Granted, you're only a waitress and your personality can be quite irritating due to how loud you are and your inability to appear somewhat intelligent in everyday life," Sheldon began to weigh in, "however there is a chance that she will be impressed that you a Doctoral student - only Physics, but still, there's a chance she will be impressed."

"_Only physics._" Penny scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry," Leonard said as he looked at her through the rear view mirror. "She'll be more impressed by you than she is me. My terrible acting career and job in the IT department are a great disappointment to my mother."

"I'm sure it's not a disappointment."

"Oh, it is." Sheldon and Leonard said together - the latter more sadly.

Jutting her jaw out, Penny looked out of the window. "Well, it's not a disappointment to me." She muttered. If there was anything she absolutely hated, it was parents using the word 'disappointed' - and that certainly wasn't a word that applied to Leonard. No child should think their parent views them in such a way.

Beverly Hofstadter was in for a wild ride.

* * *

Walking into 4A, Penny instantly understood why Leonard had warned her of his mothers intimidating nature. Just by looking at the woman, Penny felt ten times smaller and a lot less confident than she had been seconds ago when Leonard had come to 4B to invite her over. Still, she wasn't going to let that show.

"Penny, this is my mother, Beverly Hofstadter. Mother - this is Penny." Leonard gestured between them with an air of dread.

"Hi." Penny grinned, extending a hand.

"Hello." Beverly looked down at Penny's hand before shaking it quickly. "Interesting, a hand shaker."

"Uh... thanks?" Penny shrugged. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Hofstadter."

"It's _Doctor _Hofstadter." Beverly corrected.

"Oh, sorry." Penny bit her lip. "I'm gonna be a Doctor too."

With an entertained smirk, Beverly shook her head before giving Penny a sympathetic look one may give a child expressing unrealistic ambitions. "Okay, dear. You can be whatever you want."

"No, I'm serious!" Penny's brow furrowed in annoyance. "I'm studying for my Doctorate in Physics at Caltech!"

Lip curled, Beverly turned to her son and Sheldon and asked in a low voice, "she's kidding, right?"

"Difficult as it is to believe, it is true." Sheldon confirmed. "Believe me, I was just as stunned as you are."

"Excuse me, it is _not _difficult to believe!" Leonard argued.

"Hey, _you _were pretty damn surprised too when you found out!" Penny pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" Leonard asked her, exasperated and confused.

"Sorry." Penny mumbled. He had a point.

"And she wonders why people don't believe her." Sheldon muttered.

"I think I need some tea." Beverly decided, as though this would aid her process in believing that Penny was really studying Physics at such a high level.

* * *

"She's probably in there bitching about me right now to Sheldon and forcing Leonard to listen." Penny groaned an hour later, rapidly drinking a glass of wine to de-stress her from her meeting with Beverly.

"I don't see how she could find anything bad to say about you." Amy said dreamily. "You are _literally _perfection."

"Apparently a pretty blonde girl like me who waits tables to support herself won't go very far even with a Ph.D. - she doesn't even _know _me!" Penny waved her glass about. "Like okay yeah I don't outwardly appear super smart or whatever and talk about my field of interest all the time but I _am _passionate about Physics and I _am _going to make a career out of it. So... _ner._"

"Of course you are, bestie, you're incredible!" Amy nodded enthusiastically. "Granted, lazy and ditzy and stubborn, but you _are _very talented in your field. I can vouch for that myself."

"You're the queen of kicking ass when people talk smack about pretty blonde girl scientists, you show her!" Bernadette cheered. Howard was driving so she had decided to treat herself to a little more wine than usual and it was going straight to her head. Even Penny wasn't on that level; she was too busy telling them about her encounter with Leonard's mother.

"No wonder Leonard hasn't told her we're dating yet. Imagine what she'd have to say about _that_." Penny scoffed. "I can see why he didn't tell me she was coming either. Boy is he getting a lot of sympathy sex tonight."

"Someone's gonna be a in a good mood tomorrow!" Bernadette sang.

"I _wish_. She wants to come see the university and check out what I'm doing in the lab. _Like _I want her in there ruining my fun. The lab is _my _place, you know? Like... like Sheldon has his spot! I like being in the lab and doing my experiments and just knowing that I'm comfortable there. I was nervous sharing that with Leonard, I don't need his mother in there judging everything I do."

"Just show her things professionally like you would to Dr. Bailey." Amy suggested. "That could make it less... personal and invading."

"Yeah, I could try that I guess."

"We'll come and back you up if needs be." Bernadette offered.

"No, no, I can deal with her on my own."

* * *

"Is that it?" Beverly asked, having stayed silent the whole time Penny had been showing her around the lab.

Frowning, Penny shrugged. "I would offer to show you an experiment but I sensed you weren't particularly interested in anything I was telling you." She said coldly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Sorry dear, it's just that this is nothing I haven't seen before." Beverly gave her an amused smile, as though Penny were a child who had just shown her that she could spell her own name.

"Then perhaps I _will _show you the experiment." Penny decided. "I mean, it's still in the early stages and it's just to back up a few things in my latest thesis chapter, but I can assure you it's probably something you haven't seen before."

"Alright then."

"Oh." Penny blinked for a moment, not having expected Beverly to want to see the experiment after the apparently disappointing tour. "Umm, okay." Hesitating, she handed her a spare pair of protective goggles. "You'll need to put those on."

"Do I really need to or are you just trying to pretend that the experiment is big enough to warrant the need of protective gear?"

"Uh... you _do _need to wear them. Unless you want to damage your eyes... so, yeah, you do need to." Penny rambled, before shoving her own protective glasses on and turning off the light. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat. _Be professional. This is your lab, not hers. This is your place and your expertise and you are in your zone. Don't let her ruin it. _"You're going to have to stand to the side so you're not in the way of the equipment and can view it safely." She instructed, walking confidently over to the control station she'd set up for herself. She watched pointedly as Beverly glared at her for a moment and then stood aside. "Thank you."

_I have so got this._


	16. 15 A Good Physicist

**A/N - So it's Season Premiere Day! Hello S9! So what better day to update this story? Happy Monday! **

* * *

Shuffling from her couch to the front door, Penny took another swig from her wine bottle just before the knocking ceased. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she raised her brows at Leonard once the door was open. "What's up?"

"Got any more alcohol?" Leonard gestured glumly to the bottle in Penny's hand.

"Your Mom still here?"

"Yup."

"Stocked up the second I left campus." Penny nodded, walking into her apartment as way of inviting him in.

Closing the door behind him, Leonard scrunched his nose as he took in the smell. "What are you drinking?"

"The question is what am I _not _drinking." Penny flopped down onto the couch, handing him her bottle. "I tried to like her. But I started hating her about five seconds after I met her."

"Yeah. Now do you see why I didn't tell you she was visiting?"

"Could have done with an advance warning." Penny grumbled, picking up a nearly empty bottle of red wine and toasting it to Leonard's. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Leonard echoed, before taking a generous swig from the bottle Penny had given him. Deciding that just taking swigs simply wasn't enough, he tilted his head back slightly and downed the rest of the contents. "Aah. That's more like it."

"I'm so proud of you sometimes." Penny gave a half-giggle, jabbing his knee before hopping up to grab a bottle of Tequila from the top of the fridge. "How the hell did you deal with her growing up? That's a _lot _of time around her."

"You know," Leonard picked up a glass from the coffee table and finished off whatever was in it, "when I was ten, I built a hugging machine."

"You built a _hugging machine_?"

"Yup. I got a dressmakers mannequin and stuffed it with an electric blanket, added some arms... my Dad borrowed it sometimes."

"That's so sad!" Penny frowned, leaning a little closer to him.

"My sister had a punching bag and she printed a photograph of mothers face and stuck it on there as her target. She felt guilty like a week later and took it off, but that week she seemed to deal with her a lot more calmly than usual."

"Ooh, I like the punch bag idea." Penny nodded thoughtfully as she twisted open the bottle of Tequila. "I wanted to aim my laser at her face _so bad _earlier." Her free hand clenched into a tense fist as she scrunched up her face. "But then I remembered that would probably not end well for me and I don't want to ruin my career over her, so, I didn't."

"You could make it look like an accident." Leonard suggested.

"D'you know what pisses me off?" Penny slammed down the bottle, turning to look at Leonard. "I am a _good _physicist. My experiments have focus and direction. My understanding of theory and willingness to test it is exceptional - ask Dr. Bailey. I _love _what I do. The lab is _my _place - it has _always _been my place. I'm in the zone when I'm there. And _she _\- your dear _mother _\- the _renowned _Beverly Hofstadter - had the _nerve _to question me!"

Leonard could practically hear Penny's teeth grinding whenever she emphasized a word. "She does that to everyone."

"Look, Leonard, that lab is _my _place. It's the one place I'm totally comfortable just being myself. Not the pretty blonde party girl that I look like and the laid-back girl everybody knows, but _me_. The Penny _you _know who spends hours telling you about experiments and scribbling on whiteboards and getting nervous about things... I'm a sensitive person. I have insecurities. But I'm unstoppable in the lab and she made me question myself. Now pour me a freakin' Tequila shot before I knock her out with my baseball bat and experiment with how to shut her up for the rest of her life."

* * *

"Sheldon and I have set a date for our date!" Amy announced, all but jumping into Penny's lab.

"Oh my God!" Penny's eyes went wide, instantly putting down her pencil. She could re-plot things later. "That's amazing! When are you going?"

"In three days time." Amy was grinning from ear to ear. "We will be going for a smart casual dinner at six o'clock."

"That's so cute!" Penny gushed, pulling off her safety goggles. "Did he just come to your office and tell you when you're going?"

"Pretty much! He came in and I thought he was going to say something about our work, which would be weird because today we're not scheduled to work together. Then he told me that he'd found the perfect place for our first date and booked us a table."

"Ooh, Sheldon being all take-charge with the date - that's impressive."

"I thought we were _never _going to set a date. After I agreed to go on a date with him we just... moved on from the subject and ignored it. But now I'm excited all over again! A boy is going to take me on a date! Just me and him!"

"I'm so excited for you!"

"Me too!"

"Can I help you get ready? I love picking out clothes and I do a really good job of it. Ask Leonard, he always feels great when he goes to an audition in an outfit I chose for him. Oh, and - _and _we need to have a girls night like _straight _after so we have all the gossip!"

"I am on board with all of those things!" Amy nodded eagerly. "Why does it smell like limes in here?"

"Oh..." Penny bit her lip guiltily. "I was, uh, proving to Leonard that I'm amazing in the lab. And he was reassuring me."

"Penny! You're not meant to do that in here!"

"I know, I know! I'm sorry, please don't tell Doctor Bailey."

"I won't, but it still doesn't explain the limes."

"We did a lot of Tequila shots yesterday and there were a lot of limes involved. So we experimented with some limes in here too. Just for the kissing part, you know, that could sting a bit. But I'm telling you, the lab is my _zone_!"

"Oh!" It suddenly dawned on Amy what Penny was talking about. "Is this the Beverly thing?"

"Yes!" Penny stomped a foot. "You just be thankful that Sheldon's Mom is, from what Leonard's told me, perfectly normal albeit very religious."

"I'll keep that in mind." Amy nodded. "Is she still here?"

"No, she went back to New Jersey this morning - halle-freakin-lujah!"

"At least you had exciting coitus."

"That I did." Penny smirked.

"Ooh, we should totally have a girls night tonight to bitch about Beverly!"

"Yes! And discuss your upcoming date!" Penny squealed excitedly.

"We are so bad ass!" Amy grinned, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Okay, I have to go tell Bernadette - I'll let you get back to your work. Remember to write the girls night into your diary!"

* * *

"You need to drive Sheldon to his date with Amy tomorrow, by the way." Penny said, before giving up on twirling her spaghetti neatly around the fork in her hand and slurping it noisily into her mouth.

"What? Why?" Leonard scrunched up his face.

For a moment, Penny chewed on her spaghetti while Leonard held back a laugh at her eating habits. "Well," she licked her lips, "Amy can't drive Sheldon to their date, that's just wrong. The guy is supposed to pick up the girl and Sheldon can't drive."

"How does that make it my problem?"

"Umm because he's your roommate and your best friend and even though he's crazy he still should be allowed to follow the traditions of dating." Penny pointed out.

"But-"

"Oh come on, Leonard! Just take him, I'm asking you. I want Amy to have a nice time - she's really excited about this."

Sighing, Leonard nodded. "Alright, fine."

"_Thank _you." Penny gave an overly dramatic sigh, as though this had been a particularly stressful subject for them to agree on. "Can you give me a massage later?"

"I thought you said you weren't a fan of my massages after the apparently terrible shoulder massage incident last week?"

"I'm not, but I've been leaning forward _all day _in the lab and my back hurts. You can just rub it or something, I think that'd constitute a massage from you." Penny shrugged.

"Leaning forward all day, huh?" Leonard smirked. "I knew I should have swung by the lab today."

"You would have really enjoyed the view." Penny nodded. "From the front _and _the back."

"Next time you're doing such a thing, text me."

"Noted." Penny frowned in concentration as she used her finger to move the remains of her spaghetti onto her fork. "This dinner was really good."

"You look like a kid who can't use cutlery when you do that." Leonard laughed.

"What are you saying, that I eat like a kid?" Penny raised a brow at him, lifting her fork and pointing it in his direction.

"No, I meant... it's adorable. The way you move every last bit onto your fork so there's nothing left and that you do it with your fingers."

"This is the first time in weeks that I'm eating spaghetti that isn't crunchy, of course I'm gonna eat every last bit!" Penny finished off the food on her fork to prove her point. "You should cook us dinner more often."

"I really don't understand how you manage to make spaghetti _crunchy _so consistently."

"Alright, you just be quiet Mr. Spaghetti Master." Penny rolled her eyes. "For that comment you just earned yourself five episodes of _Sex and the City _tonight."

"Oh man."

* * *

Standing between 4A and 4B, Penny chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She had spent a couple hours helping Amy get ready for her date with Sheldon before finally returning to 2311. While she had agreed to have dinner with Leonard once he returned from driving Sheldon and Amy to their date, her earlier conversation with Dr. Bailey had been replaying in her mind all evening and she knew she should take a rain check.

Of course, Penny knew that a doctorate required a lot of her time and effort. Even Dr. Bailey knew that Penny was aware of the workload and that she wasn't _in_sufficient at what she was doing. But it had become clear, apparently, that Penny was not putting in enough and was falling behind. Not drastic amounts, but slowly and noticeably. It wasn't just one slip up, it was continual delays in getting things done. It wasn't something Penny had wanted to hear right before Christmas, because she also desperately needed to put in more hours at the restaurant to re-fill her bank account and pay her bills.

Sighing, Penny looked between the two doors. It really wasn't long until the Christmas vacation period began. She could work more hours then, and the time she wasn't spending going to classes could be spent catching up on her work. She wasn't planning on going back to Omaha for the holidays so she figured she was safe with having the time to focus on her work. Besides, Leonard would be busy driving Sheldon around and listening to him complain about all the problems he had with Christmas.

But she really should take a rain check and get started on this work so she had more to go on when she went to her lab class. She hadn't even read the assigned chapter.

_I can just read it tomorrow morning, _Penny thought. _I'll start it now until Leonard comes back. _And anyway, Penny was pretty hungry - and Leonard had told her about this new takeaway place and it sounded delicious. He was paying so that was one less thing to worry about too - money saved and a full stomach. Plus they'd have his apartment to themselves for a while and she was determined to finish off what they'd started on his armchair the other day before Sheldon had interrupted them.

Ignoring the guilt of pushing her work away from the priority list in her mind, Penny gave a quick knock on 4A in case Leonard had gotten home miraculously fast. With no answer, she went back to her own apartment and got changed into something less comfortable but more appealing before locating the book and skipping to the required chapter. Being a good physicist didn't mean she wasn't allowed to wear outfits that made her look hot and spend time with her boyfriend and forget momentarily about her workload. _Not like I'm Stephen Hawking and people are eagerly awaiting my latest discoveries, _Penny thought to herself. She grabbed her highlighters from the coffee table to ease her guilt somewhat and get some work done before she heard Leonard knock on her door.


	17. 16 Shopping

Amy had no idea why it was so awkward going to dinner with Sheldon for a date when they'd had dinner together before. Why did adding the word 'date' to an activity suddenly make it so much more daunting? Ever since Leonard and Sheldon had picked her up from her apartment, she'd found herself with nothing to say. Leonard tried to engage them all in conversation but honestly it had just made things all the more awkward, so he'd shut up and continued driving in silence. Which she was sort of grateful for, but also wished he hadn't because at least then somebody in the car was making an effort.

And it was still silent, twenty minutes later while they were waiting for their food to arrive. They had spoken to the host when coming in and then to the waiter, but still nothing to each other. Every time she looked at Sheldon, he looked like he wanted to say something but had no idea what. Two brilliant minds at a complete loss for words.

Taking a sip of her wine (God knows she needed it), Amy thought back to a conversation she'd had with Penny and Bernadette a while ago. Penny had said her first time sleeping with Leonard had been awkward. This was sort of like that - a shift in their relationship. Penny and Leonard had always been friends but having sex added a new pressure. She'd had a mostly professional relationship with Sheldon, and now they were crossing that boundary. They had agreed when setting the date for their date not to discuss work, because then it wasn't really any different to having dinner on a normal day - the line was being crossed for a reason, and they had to stick to the agreed date night rules.

But still - Penny and Leonard had gotten over it. _Way _over it, Amy thought. She could do it too.

"So... how was your latest visit to the Comic Book Store?" Amy asked, hoping this was a suitable conversation topic. She knew he enjoyed them, so it was a start, but there was always the possibility that he wouldn't want to share his experience with her.

"Ooh, that was quite an adventure." Sheldon's eyes suddenly lit up, a grin spreading across his face. Amy couldn't help but think about how adorable he looked at that moment; the chance to tell someone who was willing to listen about his world. It was exciting, she decided, and suddenly she was a lot less nervous - and so was Sheldon.

"How so?"

"You see, Stuart got in all these new collectibles so we were there for almost two hours just looking at them all! We were even going to buy one, which wouldn't have been too bad because we get a discount, but we couldn't agree on what to buy. It was down to Leonard and I since we live together, but trying to just pick one thing..." Sheldon sighed, shaking his head. "A real pickle, sometimes."

"I'm sure you'll both decide on one you _really _want." Amy smiled. "Did you get any comic books?"

"Of course, I got a Batman &amp; Robin one to add to my collection. Wolowitz nearly got it, but I got there first." Sheldon told her proudly.

"Well, it's good that you got there first then."

"It really is. Once he got the one I wanted and he wouldn't shut up about it for weeks. So _annoying_." Sheldon rolled his eyes, before slurping the last of his first glass of diet coke. "I'm going to have to ask for a second one. How is your wine?"

"Oh, it's very nice." Amy said, stunned that he'd asked her about wine of all things. "I recognized the name of it in the menu from Penny's apartment so I figured it must be at least half decent."

"My mother said it's quite dependent on the grape." Sheldon tilted his head slightly. "She said Jesus didn't discriminate against grapes which meant her job was to taste them all. Somehow I don't think that came from the Bible."

"No, it probably didn't." Amy agreed.

Just then their waiter arrived with their food, looking relieved that the couple he was serving finally looked less awkward and more like they were on a date. A curious couple on a date, but a date none the less.

* * *

Still trying to catch her breath, Penny rolled over to see who was texting her. A grin spread across her face as she read the slightly too long but simultaneously adorable message from Amy Farrah Fowler.

_**Oh my GOD! I loved going on a date with Sheldon Cooper - a real date where we both dressed up and didn't talk about work, not once! At first it was REALLY awkward and I thought I finally understood what you said all that time ago about your first time having coitus with Leonard being really awkward. But once things got going, it was AMAZING. I only had one glass of wine (red) and then water, so as not to ruin the date but still seem classy. Plus I needed it for the nerves. Thank you for your help earlier with getting ready and the advice! I am home safe and sound, and in bed - I assume Leonard has already returned to you in this time, as I called my Mother to inform her of how my date went too. She was very happy that I chose to go on a date. Talk to you soon! AFF. **_

Giggling, Penny rolled over in her bed so she was facing Leonard, who seemed to be doing better now thanks to the inhaler. "Well, seems the date was a success."

"Ours?"

"No - well yes ours too - but I'm talking about Sheldon and Amy's. I just received an essay from her. Did he say anything about it?"

"He was pretty quiet about it. Nervous, I guess. Shy." Leonard shrugged slightly, and Penny placed her head on his chest.

"Remember the first time we slept together and it was really awkward?"

"Yup."

"She said that's how she felt going on a date with him at first before it started going well."

"Aww. Wait." Leonard raised a brow. "Does she... how does she know about that?"

"I told her." Penny tapped his stomach, smirking. "Girls tell each other everything, you know."

"Huh."

"What?"

"I dunno, I thought there were boundaries to that."

"There are not." Penny giggled, lifting her head slightly to look up at him. "But don't worry. I haven't had anything bad to say."

"Good." Leonard grinned.

Placing her head back on his chest, Penny traced a pattern on Leonard's stomach thoughtfully. "I wonder if Sheldon and Amy will ever have sex."

"That's what you're thinking about after we have sex? Gee, thanks."

"I'm not!" Penny huffed, rolling her eyes. "It's just because of her text. Before that I was thinking that I probably need to invest in an inhaler too if you keep doing that thing you found on Google. And while I was waiting for you to bring Sheldon home I was thinking about the thing we did in the lab."

"Oh." Leonard grinned, puffing out his chest slightly so Penny's head rose with the movement. "I'd say if they stay together for like... six years, maybe it's a possibility."

"Wow. And I thought _we _took it slow."

"Yeah but that was pure torture." Leonard ran his hand down Penny's spine, letting it rest at the small of her back.

"_Believe _me Leonard, I know."

"For Sheldon six years probably seems like it's too soon. That would be a _huge _step for him. I mean, I had to pass several rounds of Roommate Suitability tests before I was allowed to move in. A relationship is a much bigger deal, especially for someone like him. He needs to take it at a pace he's comfortable with, there's nothing wrong with that."

* * *

"I can't believe Penny is forcing me to participate in the hideousness that is Christmas." Sheldon grumbled, trudging along beside Leonard as they walked through the mall. There were a lot of people and he had decided to walk very close to him in case he got lost - just the idea of getting lost in the plethora of people had caused his heart rate to increase and palms sweat with panic.

"She's not _forcing _you." Leonard rolled his eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that day already. He wanted to point out that Sheldon could have declined to come to the mall with him to buy gifts, but he didn't want his shopping experience ruined by another argument. He wasn't a fan of shopping in the first place so it would be dangerously easy to make him completely give up on the idea.

"Yes she is! She told me she got me a gift, now I am socially obliged to give her one in return." Sheldon pointed out. "Can we get her a gift from the both of us?"

"No! She's my girlfriend; I'm buying her something special from _me_ \- her boyfriend. And part of what I buy her is something you definitely don't want to be associated with."

"What are you going to buy her?"

"Something from the lingerie shop." Leonard shrugged. "But I'm ordering it online with the help of her browsing history on my laptop. I'm not comfortable going into that store even when I'm with her; I have no intentions of going alone. Or with _you_."

Frowning, Sheldon nodded. "Alright, I won't gift-share with you."

"Thank you!" Leonard said, relieved. "We're meeting Wolowitz and Raj at the juice bar and then we can start shopping."

"I _hate _the juice bar!"

"Where do you want to go first?"

"Ooh, ooh, Radio Shack! And then somewhere that sells bath stuff. I read that girls like bath stuff, so I'll find something in there for Penny. Then it's out of the way. Do you know what she got me?"

"No."

"Oh, that's too bad." Sheldon's mouth twisted uncomfortably as he began trying to work out what exactly he would have to get Penny and how much he should spend.

"Do you know what you're getting Amy?"

Sheldon's eyes widened. "Oh dear God. I have to get _Amy _something too?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. We may need to sit down at the juice bar so I can think of some ideas."

* * *

"Oh hey Raj!" Penny grinned as she approached him. "Doing a bit of Christmas grocery shopping?"

Raj smiled politely and nodded his head. "Yes," he said quietly, looking at her briefly before turning his head away. Too much eye contact with women made him incredibly nervous - talking to them was difficult enough on a professional basis, let alone as a friend.

"I told Leonard and Sheldon I'd prepare the potatoes for the little group Christmas dinner," Penny said, holding up the post-it on which she'd written the type and quantity of potato and herbs required for the correct flavoring to make them exactly like her mothers. She found Raj's shyness adorable; slightly creepy when she hadn't known how shy he was and was convinced he was just staring at her, but once Leonard had explained she'd been quite drawn to his quiet nature. He seemed like a good listener.

"I'm in charge of the poultry." Raj said after clearing his throat.

"Wow. Big job!" Penny raised her brows. "I'm not sure I'll do a good job of the potatoes. I _cannot _cook. But I really wanted to contribute something, you know? I'm excited to have Christmas with you guys; I mean, I'd love to go back to Nebraska but I just don't have the time or the money. And I can't spend it with _just _Leonard - we're not really there yet, like - it would be nice but it's very... official couple-y, right? And I feel like a bit of a bitch because I haven't really had much spare time with all this work I have to do and Karen Bailey is probably prepared to serve my head on a plate if I don't get this chapter written like, ASAP, and Leonard always wants to hang out and I want to hang out too but I just... ugh." Penny shook her head, running a hand through her hair and sighing. "I'm sorry. I'm just... really stressed about these potatoes!"

For a while, all Raj could do was blink. That was a lot of information from a woman he hardly knew. He knew she liked to have a salad with her food at lunch and always stole Leonard's fries when he had some, but this was a lot more than he was used to. Not sure of what to say, he simply replied with "would you like some help cooking the potatoes?"

"Oh my God, really? That would be so great! That's so sweet of you, thank you!" Penny gushed, pulling Raj into a hug.

_Turn your pelvis_! Raj thought, twisting his hips slightly to the side. Penny really did smell nice - she was certainly more than just a pretty face. "You're welcome." He said, once she'd pulled back.

"Leonard really doesn't like my cooking, I mean, he didn't look too enthused when I offered to make the potatoes. He's never actually said it's _bad_, but... you know. I get the hint. And my sister got food poisoning once when I cooked for us. I'm not painting a very good picture of my cooking skills... you'd think as an experimental physicist I'd figure something out. I can cook a panini in 3.8 seconds in the lab though." Penny laughed. "Anyway, I need to finish getting everything and drop it off at home before I go to work. I'll text you about the cooking, you can come over and we'll be able to head over next door when it's done!"


	18. 17 Lets Dance

Penny was unable to help herself from giggling as she dropped a bath bomb into the hot water of the bath she was drawing herself. It had taken her almost ten minutes to decide which scent she was in the mood for, what with all the bath gift sets Sheldon had given her. Her Christmas gift to him had been a napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy from the time he'd eaten at the Cheesecake Factory - this apparently meant that in return, she was now loaded with bath gifts. Bubbles, bombs, gels, sponges, moisturizers - you name it, it was there.

Pulling off her robe, she let it drop to the floor before picking her phone up from the edge of the sink and stepping carefully into the tub. Her mother had always told her off for using her phone in the bath, especially when she'd answered her mothers call a couple of years ago whilst in the bath and dropped it straight into the water. Still, it was a good place to catch up on things - relaxed and unoccupied.

Once the tub was done filling and she had completed her game of Solitaire, she sent a photograph to Leonard as an extra Christmas treat. He was playing video games with Sheldon and Raj, while Amy, Howard and Bernadette had gone to see their respective parents. Penny had video called her parents in the morning to wish them a Merry Christmas - she'd even put on her Santa hat, one of her favorite childhood traditions. All that was left now was her sister - what with her brother being in rehab, the most she could really do these days was mail him a card.

"Merry Christmas Little Slugger!" Bridget sang into the phone after two rings.

"And a happy Christmas to you, Big Slugger." Penny giggled.

"How come you're not video calling?"

"I'm in the bath. I wasn't sure if you were sitting with other people." Penny used her free hand to rearrange the bubbles around her chest as though Bridget and any possible companions could actually see her in that moment. "Is it snowing?"

"No, I'm in the living room. Everyone else is in the kitchen. Yeah, it looks so nice outside - just like old times. Any snow your end?"

"Nope. No snow in California." Penny sighed.

"You should have come back for Christmas."

"I know. I can't. But I wish I had. I kinda miss Nebraska and spending it with you guys."

"How was Christmas with your friends?"

"Different. The guys are weird - Sheldon isn't a Christmas person, Howard's still transitioning from spending the whole day with his Mom, Raj is... Raj, Bernadette and Amy had to see their families so now it's just me. I've never really had any alone time on Christmas before. It was always with you guys, and then it was with Kurt if I didn't fly back, and now... it's just me."

"What about Leonard? You guys still together?"

"Yeah, we are. He's playing video games with his friends. That's what they do every year apparently. Mainly to keep Sheldon satisfied and shut him up."

"This Sheldon guy seems like a lot of fun."

"Oh he's a real treat." Penny rolled her eyes.

"How come Leonard's not in that bath with you then?"

"I told you, he's playing video games. I mean I sent him a photo but I don't know if he's replied or anything because now I'm on the phone to you."

"Ah, a classic Christmas treat. In which case I'm gonna hang up and let you follow up on that while I go steal some more of Mom's potatoes. I hear you made some of those this year."

"Yeah, she gave me the recipe, Raj made them. They tasted pretty good."

"Thank God you didn't cook. You'd have no boyfriend or friends left in Pasadena if they all tried them."

"Hilarious."

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Penny - and use protection!"

* * *

"Are you okay?" Leonard asked as he entered Penny's apartment after she'd called to him that it's unlocked, finding her huddled up under a blanket on the couch with a selection of textbooks open on the coffee table while she frantically typed at her laptop.

"Uh-huh." Penny nodded, quickly looking up to give him an unconvincing smile. "Just doing some work."

"You sure? You look exhausted." Leonard sat down on the couch beside her, placing the pizza boxes on the floor since there was no space on the coffee table.

"I'm just tired, I've been doing a lot of early shifts with extended hours. This girl is not accustomed to so many early starts." Penny lifted her blanket so that he could join her beneath it.

"More like you look like you haven't slept in about a week." Leonard said as he put an arm around her.

Unable to resist the comfort of his embrace, Penny let herself cuddle into his side, placing her head on his chest and an arm around his waist while he drew small circles on her back. "Well... not a week. Just feels like it." She admitted, squeezing him slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I just haven't been sleeping very well recently. No matter how tired I am I just lie there wide awake. All these extra hours at the Cheesecake Factory, and getting this work done... Physics is _hard_."

"Like you didn't know that already?"

"Leonard..."

"I'm sorry." Leonard kissed her forehead. "Maybe you just need to take a little break - do you have a day off when you can just relax?"

"Tomorrow. But I was gonna get up early so I could go play Paintball with you and the guys like I promised Sheldon. I don't want you guys to lose again."

"You don't have to go to Paintball. Just stay home, have a lie in, take a bath with one of those glittery things Sheldon got you... take it easy."

"How can I have a lie in if I'm not sleeping in the first place? And I get so lonely if I have a day off and nobody's around, I might as well go with you guys."

"I'll stay home with you. The guys can play without me - that way technically _I _haven't lost."

"Really? You'd do that?" Penny scrunched up her face in confusion; she knew how much Leonard loved Paintball and that it was a part of his routine, and nobody had ever given up something like that just to spend the day with her doing nothing.

"I'd do it for you." Leonard shrugged as though it was no big deal. "Lets have this pizza and watch something."

"But I need to do this work." Penny groaned.

"You can get back to that. I saved some leftovers that Sheldon wanted to throw out because it's_ no longer Christmas _so you'll have something to snack on while you work. You look like you _really _need a break."

Giggling, Penny nodded. She liked that Leonard knew she liked to have something to snack on while doing her work, and that he always saved or brought her something for the occasion - even when they were about to have dinner together. Last week he'd come over with a fruit salad to eat after all the Chinese food they'd ordered. "Okay. Thank you."

"Do you want some hot cocoa after we have our pizza? My sister sent some from Switzerland; she went there a few weeks ago and said it's the best she's ever tasted."

"Does it come with winter cuddles under the blanket?" Penny asked hopefully, and in that moment Leonard couldn't believe how utterly adorable she was.

"Of course."

"Then I would like a lot of hot cocoa after we eat this probably lukewarm pizza."

* * *

That night, Penny finally achieved a decent sleep. A lover of sleeping in, she allowed herself to enjoy that luxury in Leonard's arms and not having to force herself out of bed after being awoken by her alarm. She allowed herself to have a relaxed, lazy day with him knowing that she would work much better the following day when she was more rested and had had some stress release.

Having realized how stressed Penny was over her work, Leonard made sure to spend more time with her when she was home. She seemed to work better with him there, even when he was just playing video games or watching TV. It entertained him the way she would often read things aloud or ask a question out loud and then type out the answer, the conversations between herself evidently part of her working process.

But he could still tell that something wasn't quite right with her. She was okay with making New Years plans with him, but when he asked when she had to go back to classes and when she was next meeting with Karen Bailey, she'd suddenly switch and snap. Even when he'd asked if she was looking forward to the new semester, she'd glared at him and told him to stop asking so many questions. She had even yelled down the phone to her parents that she didn't know what she was doing after the New Year, and that she wished people would just leave her alone because she had enough on her plate right now (this was punctuated with a scoffed _God!_ that Leonard couldn't help but chuckle at, after which he found himself being hit on the head with a cushion).

So he stopped asking questions and let her focus on her work, which kept her calm. The day before New Years Eve she proudly announced, at eight thirty in the morning, that she had gotten to where she needed to during the vacation period. After congratulating her, he asked why on earth she was up so early with her laptop. She admitted that after realizing how close she was when she'd gone to bed, she'd ended up getting back out of bed to fetch her laptop and work through the night. He didn't question it - whatever worked for her. And he was more than happy to spend the majority of the day in bed with her.

* * *

Penny had been reluctant to agree to spending New Year at the Comic Book Store dressed up - until Leonard mentioned that she could dress up as Cat Woman. That had caught Penny's attention; she knew she would look insanely hot in that outfit, and it had been a while since she'd really dressed up for Leonard or even made much of an effort at all. Just the thought of the way Leonard would have to peel it off her body had made her shuffle herself into his lap and press her lips against his. Plus it was better than sitting at home all day working, since her manager had given her New Year off after having worked both holidays the previous year to avoid spending that time with a drunk Kurt.

It was a good thing she'd gone all out with the costume and make-up, because they won a costume competition she hadn't been told about until they'd arrived. It wasn't really her kind of thing, but Leonard seemed incredibly pleased that they had won which made her happy in turn. Besides, costumes were great photo opportunities.

The final countdown until midnight began and Penny couldn't help but grin widely as she thought about how her year had changed. She had gone from a confusing relationship, to being a single waitress preparing for her Doctorate, to having an amazing boyfriend who respected her as both a physicist and his girlfriend. She loved him visiting her lab, and going with him to auditions, and eating pizza on the couch while she studied and he watched one of his SciFi shows that she never really followed. It wasn't exactly how she'd envisaged herself at this stage in her life, but she most certainly wasn't complaining.

Leonard too couldn't help but grin as they counted down, Penny clinging to his arm excitedly. Sure, he hadn't yet found his big break in the acting world and his mother was still taking every opportunity possible to point out his lack of success. But he'd found a beautiful, supportive girlfriend with both an ass and brains to die for, and had a group of friends who loved Star Wars and video games at least as much as he did himself. As they made their way outside for the fireworks, he squeezed her hand as she squealed excitedly at him that she was glad she'd come with him tonight.

"Happy new year, Leonard," Penny smiled softly at him after breaking from their midnight kiss. She almost felt like she had more to say in that moment, but she was too lost in the beauty of the moment with the fireworks and the cheering.

"Happy new year, Penny." Leonard gave her a quick kiss on the nose, making her giggle. "Care to dance?"

Leaning back slightly, Penny raised a brow. "You dance?"

"Not very well. But well enough to ask you."

"Aww." Penny took his hands, biting her lip. "Lets dance."

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hello, Amy." Sheldon said into his phone. He was glad he had gone to the back room of the comic book store to make the phone call, because he couldn't stop himself from smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. Although my arms hurts because my little cousin bit me - the disadvantages of spending the New Year with family." Amy sighed. "How are you? Did you win your competition?"

"Yes, we did. It's a shame you and Bernadette couldn't be there to really round off the team."

"I'm sorry. Perhaps next year. I do feel I'm outgrowing these family gatherings." Amy wondered if she would even still be in a relationship with Sheldon in a years time. She hoped she would be. But it was hard to tell with Sheldon, and impossible to ask without scaring him off. She figured her comment was subtle enough to tide him over; she was, after all, friends with Bernadette and Penny - and she _really _hoped they were all still friends next year, because she liked them both and she loved having friends.

"Yes, perhaps." Sheldon agreed after a moment of silence. "Well, I just called to wish you a happy new year."

"Sheldon, that's so sweet!" Amy gushed, a wide smile spreading across her face. "Thank you. Happy new year to you too."

"You're welcome." He cleared his throat. At least he wasn't obligated to give her a new years kiss this way - they definitely weren't _there _yet, and if Leonard and Penny were an example then he most _definitely _wasn't ready for that amount of intimacy. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, six thirty at my place. I rented one of your favorite movies and bought your favorite brand of hot dog."

Sheldon grinned excitedly. "Oh, Amy Farrah Fowler. This year is going to be wonderful."


	19. 18 Something Different

"Are you crying?" Bernadette asked, having stood awkwardly at the door to the lab Penny was working in for almost a full minute.

Looking up, Penny quickly wiped at her nose. "No, no, just... I'm okay."

"Oh." Bernadette twisted her lip. She wasn't very good dealing with crying people; it made her feel awkward, especially when they wouldn't _admit _that was what they were doing. There had been something different about Penny recently, and she wasn't sure if this was related or she was just having a particularly bad day. "Are you coming to lunch?"

"Uh, I think I'm just going to do some work in the library." Penny said, sniffing as she packed away the equipment she had been using. "You go ahead. I'm not very hungry."

"Alright. You sure?"

"Yeah." Penny nodded and gave Bernadette her best attempt at a smile, feeling slightly bad that she was dismissing her company so easily and lying to her when it was quite obvious that she _had _been crying. She watched as Bernadette left the room before closing the door and letting out a heavy sigh. _Do not start crying again_. It was pathetic, really... but still, no reason to let it get to her now. Shaking her head, she finished packing up so the room was ready for the next person before making her way to the library.

* * *

Sitting in Leonard's car whilst waiting for him to finish an audition, Penny tried to keep her mind focused on the article she was studying. It was incredibly interesting and there was a lot of good material, but her mind kept wandering. How was Leonard's audition going? Would things change if he got his big break? Would it make her own situation easier or more difficult? What would happen to _them _as a couple?

She was going to have to tell him at some point. It's not like he hadn't picked up on the fact that something was wrong - he asked why they weren't spending as much time together, why she always looked so upset these days when her work seemed to be going well, why she seemed to tense up every time he asked a question. And Penny was running out of reasons not to answer him. Not only that, but she missed him. The rare moments they were together these days she was distracted, which she knew wasn't fair on him. But when she wasn't with him she was trying not to let herself crave his company. Dinners together were mostly silent, and the sex was definitely different - and not different in a _good _different way. It had become little more than a physical act, both of them pretending nothing had changed. But Penny still loved the safety and comfort of being in his arms afterwards, and she was glad she hadn't pushed him so far away that he never stayed.

This audition would not lead to Leonard's big break - she knew that. It was just a commercial. But he had a few others lined up, and she knew eventually he'd be involved in something that took up the rest of his free time. Part of her wanted that, just to make things easier for herself. But did she _really_? What if they just stopped having any time at all for each other? Yes, she was struggling to be around him and her friends right now, but she didn't want either of them to stop making the effort altogether either. She cherished those moments they could just be around each other regardless of what was going on; no matter how much she thought it would be easier for them to have reasons to spend some time apart from each other, she refused to let it go away completely.

Eventually, she would tell Leonard. _Sooner rather than later_, she told herself, but she knew she'd put it off. She had to, if the tears welling up in her eyes were any indication of how difficult it would be to tell him. But her heart would win; their situation was becoming strained and it was her own fault, and it was up to her to fix that.

"Hey." Leonard said as he got into the car, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hey." Penny gave him a brief smile before beginning to put away her travel study materials. "How did it go?"

"It was alright. Did you get much work done?"

"A little." Penny lied.

Starting up the car, Leonard looked over at her. Despite the strange distance between them, he couldn't help but notice the changes in her - the loss of appetite and lack of interest in her usual hobbies to name a few. But he still felt a need to make the effort to help her where he could. "You want to go out for dinner?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"You said you skipped breakfast and you hardly touched your salad at lunch."

"It's fine. I don't really want to eat out anyway."

"How about takeaway? We can just eat on the couch. You need to have _something_."

"Fine." Penny agreed, rubbing her forehead as Leonard began to drive off now they'd both decided on something. His mention of food had made her slightly hungry, and at least then he'd stop pointing out how little she'd been eating recently. "Lets have Chinese."

"You wanna pick up some wine on the way too?"

"No, I want to finish reading this article tonight."

"Are you sure? You've never turned down wine before." Leonard chuckled nervously; despite Penny's ever increasing dampened mood, he still found these changes in her strange.

"I just have a lot on my plate right now is all. You know how it is, it just all builds up so quickly after the holidays."

* * *

"Have you noticed anything... _different _about Penny recently?" Amy asked, turning away from the computer screen displaying Sheldon's findings.

"She's been pretty cranky, but I just put that down to the shedding of the lining of her uterine wall." Sheldon shrugged. "Although it is strange that it has lasted this long. So I guess that's something different."

"Not like that... I meant in general. Does she spend as much time with Leonard as she used to?"

"Well," Sheldon tilted his head in thought. "I've never really noticed how much time they do or do not spend together as a couple. But she doesn't make stupid jokes about food or my spot or my work nearly as often as she used to, if that's what you are after."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"She's just seems a bit... _not herself_ these days."

"It's probably just the stress of doing a doctorate and having wasted so much time on her coital pursuits with Leonard and attempting to serve tables." Sheldon pointed out. "She really should have seen that coming. That level of work requires full commitment, no distractions."

Sighing, Amy nodded. He wasn't necessarily wrong, after all - Penny always admitted to the stresses of her workload and complained about waitressing. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

* * *

"You're going to need to complete those forms and hand them in if you want to proceed with this." Dr. Bailey said, trying to sound comforting as she could see something was troubling Penny, but with a slight sense of urgency in the hopes it would prompt her to do something about the situation.

"I know." Penny nodded, her face blank.

"Do you need a pen? We can just fill them out now."

Shaking her head, Penny pulled the forms closer to her. "No, it's fine. I'll... I'll do them. I have... I have a pen."

"Okay." Dr. Bailey nodded, picking up her purse. "I'll leave you to it then. And by the way, you need to re-adjust that laser. Unless your intended target is actually your purse."

Watching as Karen Bailey left the lab, Penny took a deep breath before staring at the forms in front of her. It was _not _supposed to go like this... she had always imagined herself feeling ecstatic when she reached this moment. She was going to have to talk Leonard, and pretty soon. And now her laser needed adjusting? That just wasn't the kind of experimental physicist she strived to be.

"I thought I'd find you here." A grinning Leonard appeared at the door of her lab.

"Leonard!" Penny gasped, grabbing her forms and pressing them to her chest. "You scared me!"

"Sorry." He gave a small chuckle. "What you got there?"

"Nothing. Just some paperwork." Penny quickly began to move to shove the forms into her bag on one of the worktops, and her stomach churned unpleasantly. "Did you need something?"

"It's a slow day so I thought I'd see if you wanna go get some coffee from the cafeteria."

"Oh... umm, I dunno. I need to readjust the laser apparently." Penny frowned; she really could do with a break, and Leonard's company was appealing despite everything. "Okay, sure. I could do with a tea actually."

* * *

Sitting down opposite Leonard at his desk before he'd even managed to greet her with a cheery 'hey', Penny looked at him seriously. "I have to tell you something that I've been putting off telling you for... a very, _very _long time."

"Umm, okay?" Leonard pushed away the laptop he was using, giving her his full attention. "What's up?"

Heart thumping in her chest, Penny gulped down the lump in her throat and decided to just get to the point. "When I accepted my Ph.D. offer, it included a year abroad at CERN in Switzerland that I had applied for. I leave in the summer."

"Oh." Leonard's heart dropped to his stomach. He stared at her blankly for a while before his brow furrowed, hurt etched clearly on his face. "Why... why didn't you ever tell me this before?"

Opening her mouth, Penny closed it again before slouching forward in defeat and answering with a quiet "I don't know."

"We've known each other for a long time, Penny. There were plenty of chances to tell me. You didn't even mention it, not once!"

"I was scared, okay!" Penny burst out loudly. "Getting to go to CERN is _beyond _exciting for me. But then you came along and I was distracted. I forgot about it and that's not the kind of thing I usually forget. Then my supervisor has a meeting with me about it and all I can think about is how I'm going to tell you that I'll be in Switzerland for a year."

"How could you forget something like that?" Leonard's hand gestured aimlessly in mid air.

"I guess I just let it slip my mind! Put it on the back burner... sort of thing." Penny bit her lip guiltily.

"Slipped your mind? Switzerland just 'slipped your mind', just like that?"

"Uh... yes?" Penny sighed. "Look, this should really be like a compliment that you're such a good boyfriend you made me forget about it."

"I just don't understand how you never thought to mention it before."

"Look, I was scared. And things were really going well between us. So I let myself forget about it and just... actually _enjoy _being in a relationship." Penny frowned. "Is that so wrong?"

"Penny..." Leonard sighed; his hands dropped helplessly into his lap as he looked around the office belonging to him. It suddenly felt incredibly small. "I don't know what to say."

Immediately, Penny's mind went straight to the worst scenario. "Are you gonna break up with me?" Her voice caught in her throat.

"What? No!" Leonard assured her quickly, seeing how upset she was. "I just need to process this properly."

"Oh. Of course." Penny nodded, getting up. "I will leave you to it then. And I'm sorry... I really am sorry, Leonard."

"I know."

"Okay." Penny smiled sadly as she opened the door. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah."

Closing the door, Penny let out a deep breath before hurrying off to the nearest set of toilets, where she locked herself in a cubicle before letting herself cry silently. Why was this so difficult? CERN was the _dream_. She'd worked hard for her offer at the university and her year in the industry, and suddenly a part of her was actually _unhappy _about. Her intention had been to simply focus on her studies, but then Leonard came along. And Leonard was wonderful... but it complicated things. Did she want to spend a year so far away from Leonard? She knew the answer was no - regardless of knowing that there was absolutely no way she was _not _going to CERN, the girl in charge of her heart knew actually doing so would be much harder than she had ever imagined. He wasn't going to stop her, and she wouldn't let him stop her, but... crying in a toilet cubicle over the idea of spending a year away from her boyfriend was definitely not part of her Doctorate plan. And she had worked her ass off to get herself on the Doctorate programme _and _the year abroad at CERN.

"Okay." Penny took a deep breath, pretending saying 'okay' out loud would _actually _make things okay. Dabbing at her eyes, she listened for a moment to make sure she was the only one in the bathroom before stepping outside to the sinks and wiping away the small mess her make-up had made around her eyes. "You are _not _going to feel guilty or upset about moving to Switzerland," Penny told her mirror reflection firmly, leaning her shaking hands on the sink in attempt to keep them steady. "Falling in love with a guy is a _good _thing, it doesn't mean you're not passionate about science anymore, it just means- oh _God_." Penny's eyes widened as she realized what she'd just said, and her heart started racing again. "Shit. You didn't say that. Okay? You're emotional right now. Ignore that." Clearing her throat, Penny gave a final sniff and wipe beneath her eyes before hurriedly making her way out of the bathroom.


	20. 19 I'm Sorry

"Piece - of - _crap_!" Penny groaned as the loop in the tie of her apron hooked around the door handle as she opened it, causing her to stumble back slightly. Yanking the loop off the handle, Penny kicked the door shut for good measure and glared into the staff room before storming toward a bench and flopping down. She hadn't been in a particularly bad mood before deciding it was quiet enough for her to go to the bathroom, but now that she was here and had been attacked by the door handle, she suddenly felt incredibly angry and unwilling to make the effort of using the bathroom.

Turning from the cupboard he was searching, the manager raised a brow at Penny. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just fantastic." Penny snapped. Sighing, she shook her head. "Sorry. I just need to pee." Getting up, she took her phone from her apron before taking the apron off and putting it on the bench. "Son of a _bitch_!" She hissed as she unlocked her phone, stopping at the bathroom door.

"_Sure _you're okay?"

Nodding, Penny pursed her lips before returning to the bench to put her phone down. "Yep. Just _great_. I forgot to tell my boyfriend I was doing extra hours because I came straight here from the university, and usually I at least text him to let him know, but I completely forgot and now he's gonna think I'm just ignoring him and I'm already... ugh, this is just..." Shaking her head, Penny pressed her hands to her eyelids for a moment before abruptly disappearing into the staff bathroom.

Repeating _don't you dare cry _while she used the bathroom, Penny took a few seconds after drying her hands to gulp down the lump in her throat and blink back any tears that may threaten to appear. She still had at least three hours to go and hadn't taken any make-up with her, and customers didn't want to be served by a miserable waitress with smudged mascara. Taking a deep breath, she returned into the main staff area.

"Penny, why don't you finish up now?" Her manager offered, clutching a few boxes of till and receipt rolls. "We're not that busy tonight and we have enough staff to send someone home early."

"No, it's okay," Penny picked up her apron. "I'm just... a little stressed. And I need the money. I know it's just three hours, but I do, and you might get busy, so-"

"I'll pay you those three hours if you need. Seriously, you look like you could do with finishing early. Extra hours are never fun anyway."

"Are you sure?" Penny's face scrunched up and her bottom lip trembled. "I just-"

"Don't worry. Honestly, I want to be out of here as early as possible so I'm going to close one of the sections in like twenty minutes. You're starting early tomorrow, so I probably would have offered you the option to leave a little early anyway."

"Okay." Penny nodded quickly, going to her locker and pulling out her purse. "Thank you," She kicked off her black shoes and shoved them into her locker, slipping into her Uggs instead. "I promise, I won't be like this tomorrow. I just... have a lot on my plate. A _lot_."

"It's alright." The manager gave her a sympathetic smile. "I've got to get these to the floor, the bar have run out. Not that they have any customers at the moment. Get a good rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Penny nodded, shoving her apron into her purse and fishing out her car keys.

Not wanting to re-enter the floor and say goodbye to her colleagues and answer their questions as to why she was leaving early, Penny exited through the back. Once inside the safety of her car, she rested her head against the steering wheel and let herself cry. She had not spoken to Leonard yesterday since telling him about Switzerland; he'd wanted some time and space. And now, he'd finally text her to invite her round for dinner and she hadn't even thought to have sent him a message to say she would be working later than usual or check her phone in case he'd said anything yet. A part of her was scared of how he would act around her, but mostly she just wanted to talk to him. Scratch that - talking was terrifying. Especially given that... how she felt. What if it slipped out? No, she just wanted to be in his presence. She wanted to just lie in his arms and know that she was safe and he would remind her how important Switzerland was to her.

Of course, now that she took her phone out and unlocked it, the battery died.

"Fantastic."

* * *

"I'm sorry." Penny blurted out the second Leonard opened the door. "I... I just, I forgot to text you earlier that I was working longer today and... when I _did _see your text I was - my manager sent me home, so - and then my phone died-" She held up her phone with its blank screen for proof. "I'm just... I'm sorry. And I'm sorry if I woke you up, I just wanted to see you and..." Sighing, she looked down at her shoes.

"Did you forget to text me like you forgot to tell me about Switzerland?"

_Okay, that kind of hurt_. "Leonard..." Penny looked up at him in shock, eyes blinking heavily through a slow onset of tears.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Do you want me to?" Penny's voice caught in her throat, worried what his answer would be. Surely he didn't hate her _that _much?

Leonard knew he wasn't going to just leave her standing there; in all honesty he craved her presence too, despite his confusion over her recent actions. How did one forget to tell someone something so important, or to even send a text that was almost routine? He knew he probably sounded too harsh with his earlier retort; it wasn't something he would normally say. But he was tired, confused, and upset. Opening his arms, he stepped towards Penny and pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm so sorry." Penny sobbed into his shoulder, overwhelmed by the physical comfort.

Kissing the top of her head, Leonard rubbed her back gently. "It's okay, Penny." Moving his hands up to rub her arms, he smiled as she lifted her head before gently placing a kiss on her forehead. "Why don't you stay here tonight?"

"Okay." Penny nodded, sniffing as she rubbed her hand under her nose. She wanted to add 'that sounds nice', but was worried she'd start crying again. Besides, he'd already started leading her towards his bedroom.

They prepared for bed in a heavy silence. He gestured to his dresser for Penny to pick out a t-shirt to use as a nightie, and she used Leonard's toothbrush when washing up in the bathroom. Once in bed, they looked at each other awkwardly, simply lying side by side.

"How was dinner?" Penny forced out, the silence sitting heavily on her chest.

"Alright. Sheldon kicked up a fuss about his chicken."

"As usual."

"How was your day?"

"Terrible."

"Oh."

Sighing, Penny contemplated the next move in the conversation. It was more difficult to have a proper conversation with him than she'd expected. "I just always had this plan. It was working right until I moved here. Do my Ph.D. and the dream was a year at CERN. After that, I'll have time to focus on my personal life. But it's all kind of jumbled up now." Penny told him quietly, keeping her gaze on the ceiling.

Leonard wasn't sure what to say; should he apologize that he came into her life at the wrong time in her plan? Give her a sympathetic reply about how hard it must be to have both a relationship and a doctorate placement? Make a stupid joke about the fact that she had it all and still wasn't happy? Instead, all he managed to come up with was a "yeah" that sounded more flat and uninterested than intended.

Suddenly frustrated with Leonard's apparent lack of care about the situation, Penny sat up with a sigh. "Leonard, are you going to give me a proper answer?"

"Are you going to give me a proper explanation?"

"I _have _explained it to you!"

"No, you explained how your life plan or whatever is messed up."

"Exactly!"

"But what about the whole thing where you just didn't tell me about Switzerland? Conveniently forgot to text me before work that you wouldn't be here for dinner? What about that?"

"I _told _you, I didn't have time-"

"Okay, lets forget about the text."

"Please, lets!"

"But _Switzerland_? What were you gonna do, wait until you had landed and then tell me - by the way, see you next year? Did you even care that you hadn't told me?"

Glaring at Leonard, Penny's chest heaved with heavy breaths as she tried to think of a response. Unable to form any words, whether it was in frustration or guilt she didn't know, but she found herself flinging herself on top of Leonard and kissing him full on the mouth.

* * *

"I just can't put my finger on it." Sheldon tilted his head, glaring at his board in frustration for a moment before turning to Amy. "Do you see my problem?"

"Well..." Amy raised her brows nervously. Stepping forward, she took the blue marker from Sheldon's hand. Cautiously rubbing out one of the numbers with the edge of her cardigan sleeve, she replaced it with another number and stepped back. "Doesn't that fix it?"

"_Does that fix it_," Sheldon scoffed, rolling his eyes. Scrutinizing the slight change, he suddenly turned to Amy. "That does fix it! I can't believe you fixed it! How did I not see that?"

"I don't know." Amy shrugged, sitting back down on the couch. "Maybe... I don't know, you're worried about Leonard?"

Again, Sheldon scoffed. "Worried about Leonard? What on Earth would make you think that?"

"Well... you did spend the first half hour of our working session talking about how upset he is. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but that's how it seems."

"I was just stating my observations." Sheldon sat down in his spot on the couch thoughtfully. "_I'm_ sorry if they came across in a way that makes you think I care."

"Penny's pretty upset too."

"What does _she _have to be upset about? She's going to CERN!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Which is the biggest surprise of all the surprises in the world. Penny, of all people, going to CERN!"

"She's in a relationship! It makes things difficult. I mean, if I told you _I _was going away for a year, how would you feel?" Amy asked, deciding to let Sheldon's unfair judgement of Penny slide for the time being.

"I don't know." Sheldon sat up straight as he thought about it. "I suppose I would be a _little _upset that I won't see you for a year."

Though her heart warmed at his words, Amy decided not to let it show. "Exactly. Hate it all you want, but a part of you does understand why Leonard is upset, and it worries you. He's your best friend."

"I know he's my best friend, Amy. I'm the one who gave him the title."

"What title?"

"Sheldon Cooper's Best Friend."

"Oh, of course." Amy nodded in understanding.

"What _is _strange," Sheldon continued, trying to move the subject away from himself, "is that last night Leonard and Penny had very loud coitus."

"Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Sheldon shuddered. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Perhaps they just really enjoy coitus." Amy shrugged.

"Believe me, what _they _were doing - it did not look enjoyable."

"_Look_?"

"At first I thought they were fighting so I went to make sure I didn't have to intervene. I deeply regret this action."

"You really thought they would fight?"

"I don't know, those two are unpredictable. Why would they have coitus when they're both upset?"

"Good point." Once more, Amy nodded. Rubbing her neck, she looked at the board again. "Since your problem has been solved, shall we get started on this section?"

"Yes. But please, next time you see Penny, tell her to be quieter when she's having coitus in the apartment. Leonard just rolls his eyes when I ask him to ask her."

"I will ask her tomorrow during our morning coffee."


	21. 20 Honest

"And where were _y_-oh." Bernadette's eyes went wide as Penny stepped into the study room Amy had booked for them that morning, pursing her lips as though she needed to physically restrain herself from commenting. "Wow. Penny!"

"_Yes_." Penny gave a sharp nod, startled with a hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar expression on her face. She looked as though she was shocked to see Bernadette and Amy in the study room, despite knowing they were there.

As Penny slunk into one of the empty seats around the circular table, Amy raised a brow. "How could you be late and still not have had time to brush your hair?"

"She's not _late_, per se, and she _did _brush her hair - earlier this morning." Bernadette explained, shaking her head at Penny in disapproval.

"I don't get it." Amy frowned. "If she wasn't late then how does it explain why she wasn't there for coffee in the canteen this morning?"

"_God_, so I had sex with Leonard in his office!" Penny huffed, slamming her notebook down. "Can't a girl do that once in a while?" She was a little more careful with placing her laptop on the table, though it still made an audible _thump_. "And yes, I did brush my hair this morning. And yeah, I know, the buttons are done up wrong on my shirt and-" Flinging her pen onto the table so hard that it bounced across to Bernadette, Penny stood up with a groan. "And now I have to go the bathroom."

"Fix your clothes while you're there!" Bernadette advised. She received a glare before the door slammed shut. "Wow."

"I'm not sure I understand what's going on."

"They're not talking about Switzerland. So to avoid it, they're having sex instead. _Really _good sex, by the looks of it." Bernadette rolled Penny's pen back to her side of the table. "It's kinda easy to work out. That's how I distract guys too."

"Why?"

"It's a good distraction."

"Alright." Amy shrugged, returning her attention to her work. The pair worked silently until Penny finally returned. Amy thought Penny looked like she'd been crying, which would explain what had taken her so long, but she couldn't be sure. She was often wrong about these things, and Penny didn't look like she was in the best mood to be asked such questions. Now _that_ she was curious about and had to ask, "why are you in such a bad mood if you just had coitus? It doesn't make scientific sense. Was the coitus not satisfying for you?"

Glaring at Amy, Penny opened her laptop. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came to mind to use as an excuse - and she wasn't prepared to discuss the truth yet with anyone. "The coitus was more than satisfactory." She said instead. And it _had _been more than satisfactory - in fact, ever since she'd told Leonard about Switzerland, the satisfaction levels had gone up considerably. She wondered if Leonard would do such things without the level of tension there was between them nowadays.

"Surely your bad mood should be alleviated, in that case." Bernadette pointed out. "Even a little bit."

"You know what, I think I'm just gonna go work on my own until class." Penny muttered, slamming her laptop closed before shoving her belongings back into her bag.

"Penny-"

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Penny said as she stood up.

"What- aren't you joining us for lunch?"

"I'm going home after class."

"Don't you normally go to the lab after lunch on Tuesdays?"

"Not today."

"What about dinner?"

"Look, I just need some time alone!" Penny snapped. "Okay? I can't - I just need to focus on my work right now and honestly I can't do that if every time I see you guys you're asking me all these questions." With that, Penny had left the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Bernadette frowned. "Well, my idea of a group study session clearly failed in helping her feel more... herself."

"D'you think she's right - that we should maybe ask less questions?" Amy wondered. "Because I can't really help it, I'm just curious about these things."

"Maybe." Bernadette bit her lip guiltily. "I mean, maybe she does just need some time to think about it. Switzerland is really far, and it's a big deal. It must be really hard for her to think about leaving Leonard behind for a year when things are going so well for them."

"And she was really falling behind in her work." Amy nodded sadly. "Karen mentioned she was worried about Penny."

"I hope she'll be alright." Bernadette looked at Penny's empty seat worriedly. "Perhaps we need to give her a bit of time and then try again when she's had more time to think it out."

* * *

Stepping into the study room Bernadette had texted her to say she'd booked if she wanted to join them, Penny bit her lip as she closed the door quietly behind her. "I'm sorry about the other day. I was just... I'm just really stressed out about this whole situation." She said, her hand still on the door handle. "Do you mind if I join you guys?"

"Of course, go ahead." Bernadette smiled kindly. She noted that Penny did look much better, albeit her clothes still had the telltale thrown-back-on look and she looked like she needed a proper night of sleep.

"And Amy, when you see Sheldon... tell him I'm sorry for the noise. And for shouting at him." Penny said as she sat down, taking her books and laptop out from her bag. "But in my defense, he barged in to tell us to be quiet at the most... _inconvenient_ time."

"I'll let him know." Amy nodded. "But if the noise is such an issue, why don't you guys just stay at your apartment?"

"We were in my apartment." Penny shrugged, opening her laptop and entering her password.

"Oh."

Bernadette raised her brows, suppressing a giggle. She waited a moment before asking, "so how is it all going?"

"Stressful."

"I mean, apart from that. Are _you _okay?"

Penny ran a hand through her hair as she sighed heavily, lowering the lid of her laptop so she could see her friends properly. "Well... not really, I guess. It's weird. I always thought the prospect of going to Switzerland would be... different, you know. I should be excited, right? I mean, I was excited about it right up until the point I met Leonard - and then I just completely forgot about it."

"Did you _really _forget about it?" Bernadette asked. "Are you just saying you forgot to make you feel less guilty?" She knew she may be pushing the boundary with her question, but she felt Penny needed to give some answers - to herself and to her friends, and to Leonard too.

Biting her lip, Penny stared blankly at her closed notebook for a while before releasing a heavy sigh. "Does that make me really selfish?"

"That you decided to leave out a major part of your academic career because you're invested in a relationship?" Amy asked.

"Not that... more that I just never mentioned it to Leonard in case it ruined where _we _were going. And that I keep telling him I forgot about it."

"Well, you probably shouldn't have lied about it... and continued lying about it." Bernadette said with a frown. "But didn't you think that you'll have to tell him about it at some point anyway?"

"It was just easier to put it off at the time!" Penny groaned, throwing her head back. "And we've sort of come to terms with it, I guess."

"Meaning..." Amy prompted, though they all knew the answer.

"We just have sex to avoid talking about it." Penny admitted. It was strange to say it out loud; it was more a thing she'd been hiding behind. "It's a lot easier for both of us."

"You can't avoid it forever." Bernadette pointed out.

"I know, I know. I'm just scared to talk about it... what it means for us, what's gonna happen..." Penny ran a hand through her hair once more; she'd given up on it looking presentable when Leonard had visited her lab in the morning. "I just wish I was still excited about going to CERN like I was before. It's my _dream_. But it just doesn't feel like it anymore."

"Perhaps you'd feel better if you actually spoke about it with Leonard so you know where everything stands."

"This is exactly why I didn't want to get into a serious relationship - I knew it would make the whole Switzerland thing complicated."

"So you'd say your relationship is serious?" Amy asked, slightly surprised. Penny had always kept to herself about the state of her relationship, at least with her friends.

"Well... yeah, I guess. We haven't spoken about that either."

"You two have a lot of talking to do. It's a little hard to understand why you didn't tell him about Switzerland from the start. I would think you'd want to get that out of the way first."

"It wasn't that I didn't _want _to tell him. I just didn't want what we _had _to... stop happening." Penny admitted.

"Do you really think it would have had that bad an effect on the progress of your relationship?"

"Maybe?" Penny sighed. Amy and Bernadette waited for her to continue with pointed looks, and she groaned before leaning her forehead against her hands so her eyes were covered. "If someone were to tell _me _that _they _were going away for a year... I'd think either they're pointing out what we have is just temporary or... or I'd panic that they're thinking so far ahead in terms of our relationship. None of those was what I wanted. I wanted... Leonard. And yeah, that's selfish. But I was too scared it would have a negative impact on our relationship so early on."

"And you don't think that telling him _now _could have a negative impact?" Amy raised a brow. "Ow!"

"Amy!" Bernadette kicked at Amy's leg beneath the table before looking softly at Penny. "She doesn't mean that."

Amy shrugged. "I'm just being honest."

"You can't just say stuff like that!"

"No, she's right. Penny said to the table. "I dug myself a hole. And I sort of already knew that."

"So..." Bernadette paused, wondering if she should continue or just let it be for the moment. Penny didn't seem to be too bothered that they weren't actually doing any work, so she decided to make the jump. "What're you gonna do?"

Contemplating her answer for a moment, Penny took a deep breath before looking up shyly at her friends. She still wasn't ready to confront how she honestly felt about Leonard - not with them, and not with Leonard. In her mind, she told herself that was the first step: admit to herself that she felt a certain way about him, no matter how terrifying that was and how inconveniently timed that revelation was.

"As fun as the sex is, I guess I should stop using it to avoid talking to him and just... _talk_." Penny shrugged. "Give him an actual answer."

"That sounds like a good first step." Amy smiled.

"Do you want me to cover your shift for you?" Bernadette offered, knowing that this was one of the days they didn't work together and that the guys only had plans to visit the Comic Book Store after work. It was a perfect window of opportunity, and she didn't want Penny to miss it by putting the talk off.

"Oh... you don't have to do that." Penny said hesitantly, although it would greatly help her situation. As much as she was terrified of actually having an honest conversation with Leonard about Switzerland, she knew it had to happen - sooner rather than later.

"It's okay. I don't mind covering for you. It's just one shift. If you're worried about hours you can take one of mine next week."

"Really? That would actually really help... I just..." Penny gestured helplessly to her laptop. "I'm trying to find somewhere to stay in Switzerland and I don't wanna give up my apartment, and-and-"

"Penny, don't worry." Bernadette smiled. "We've got you."

For the first time since she'd told Leonard she would be going to Switzerland, Penny felt a small sense of relief. "Thank you." She said quietly, but sincerely.

As the girls respectfully returned to their work, Penny pulled her phone out to text Leonard.

_**Hey. If you don't have any plans, can we have dinner together? My place, just the two of us. I miss you. I don't want this to keep getting between what we have. Xxx**_


	22. 21 Reacquaintance

It was not a secret that Penny couldn't cook a decent meal. Her ex-boyfriend had always made fun of her for it; at first it was funny but then he would use it against her, asking what use she was as a girlfriend if she couldn't even make a proper sandwich. In her mind, she'd argued that she could make the perfect Chicken Chorizo Panini using the equipment in her lab, but somehow she didn't think he would have cared. But she'd shown Leonard how she could cook in the lab. Well, sort of - she'd been making noodles and forgotten about the flavor packet. Still, they were perfectly cooked - albeit lacking in any taste - noodles.

Either way, she had decided she was best off ordering takeout. She was too nervous to try cook anything half-decent as it was, and she didn't need to give Leonard food poisoning on top of everything that was going on. Once it had arrived, she'd set it out as neatly as she could on the coffee table - her actual dinner table seemed to formal, but perhaps that was just her overthinking the situation. Now all that was left to do was wait, and rather than occupying herself with something else, Penny simply sat on the couch watching the door until she finally heard a knock.

"Hey." Penny said quietly, her mouth curling slightly into a nervous smile. "Come in."

Stepping inside, Leonard saw that she had set dinner up on the coffee table and went to sit on the couch. He heard her shut the door before she came to sit beside him. "How're you doing?" Leonard instantly wished he'd said something else first - he'd spent the whole afternoon trying to think of what to tell her, and that was all that he could say. _Clearly those Improvisation classes were a waste of money_, he thought.

"I've been better." Penny replied, not wanting to delve into that too soon. "How about you? We haven't really... spoken properly in a while."

"I'm okay." Leonard shrugged, as though there wasn't anything going on between them to make him anything even slightly less than okay.

"How are your acting class these days?"

"They're going well." Leonard missed telling Penny about the antics at his acting class; he missed rehearsing lines with her before dinner and greeting her in the lab with cheesy lines from terribly written scripts. But now didn't feel like the time for any of that, although her silence and almost pleading look made him give in ever so slightly. "I decided to look into some comedy, which is kinda scary. I don't think I'm very funny, but... I thought it would be a good challenge."

Smiling shyly, Penny nudged his side. "I think you're funny."

"Then at least someone does." Leonard smiled back at her. "I just hope my class think so too."

"I'm sure they will." Penny assured him, before gesturing to the food. "Shall we?"

They ate in near silence, breaking it only to comment on how good the food was - and that it was always so much easier to appreciate the food when Sheldon wasn't there complaining about it every other bite. It did, however, eventually become unbearable: the silences were tense and every time they attempted a conversation, it fell flat.

"Listen..." Penny hesitated for a moment, putting her almost empty plate down by the takeout boxes. "I know I've said it a lot recently, and it probably seems like such an empty word right now... but I'm sorry."

Holding back a sigh, Leonard gave a small nod as he put his plate down too. "I know."

"No - really. Not just for the whole... not telling you about Switzerland thing. But... I've been a _really _crappy girlfriend lately. I mean, I have no idea what you're up to these days or what's the latest Comic Book hype or whatever and I kinda miss that." Penny frowned, looking down at her hands. "I miss having somebody to tell all my stupid stories to about how I messed up at work or complain about how much I hate writing papers."

"I do too," Leonard admitted, wishing he could just leave it at that, however he knew there was more to the situation than missing their early relationship. "It's just difficult to understand why you would keep that from me. Switzerland is far, and it's a whole _year_, and... and I get that you were confused and scared. I just really wish you'd told me before instead of keeping it from me. Did you think I would just give up on us because at some point you were going to leave anyway? Did you not trust me enough to support you?"

"Of course I trusted you!" Penny could feel tears in her eyes as she grabbed his hands in hers.

Heart thumping, Leonard took a moment for both of them to take a calming breath so they didn't let the nervous adrenaline take over and turn their conversation into an argument. Unsure if he even wanted an answer, Leonard quietly asked, "then what was it?"

"I didn't trust myself." Penny's voice quivered, but she fought to keep a steady gaze. This was difficult, but it was worse to let Leonard so much as think that she didn't trust him. "I'm... it was selfish, on my behalf. I know that. I didn't want to ruin what we had, or what could happen. I was worried that if you knew, it would change things. I just got out of a serious relationship and the last thing I was looking for was another one, but somehow you changed that for me. Finally there was a guy who didn't care that behind the pretty blonde there's a dorky scientist. I didn't want Switzerland getting in the way of everything."

"But... it still did."

"I know. And you're right, it probably would have been easier to tell you early on. I've been... miserable. Every time Dr. Bailey reminded me about the paperwork for my transfer I put it off. I rushed experiments so I could make it home to take you to your auditions, which was worth it because as much as I love my time in the lab I also love hearing your little monologues and the excitement on your face when you get back in the car. I spend my time trying to sort out my year abroad instead of working on my paper and by the time I make it home I'm too tired to catch up on what I missed. Then when I'm with you I'm distracted because I know I should be doing my work but then I feel bad that I'm not fully focused on you. And now I feel like I don't have time for _anything _and I wish..." Penny paused, taking a heavy breath. What did she wish? That she _wasn't _going to Switzerland? That she didn't have a boyfriend so that the process had been easier? Neither of those were true. "I wish I hadn't been scared of what _could _happen and just told you when I met you. I wish we still had what we had before."

For a heavy moment, Leonard studied Penny's face and everything he could read from her expression that she'd tried to explain with words. He knew more than anyone that the face always gave it away: wasn't he always being pushed in his acting classes to really express the character through his face and body, and not just rely on the words? Words were difficult. And he could see that Penny wasn't being insincere or naive: she was genuinely lost and afraid. Lost because she was so afraid. Afraid of what might be lost. This wasn't one of those times in life where one could simply pick one of two options and say, 'what have I got to lose?' - he realized that now. And he too was afraid to lose - Penny his girlfriend, Penny his best friend, Penny the scientist and Penny the line-reading partner. She had chosen to go to Switzerland long before she had met him; it was more complicated than simply staying or going.

"So lets try going back to what we had before." Leonard finally said. "And maybe it won't be as difficult as it has been."

Her heart skipped a beat, and she barely managed to get her words out. "Are you sure?"

"Well... yeah." Leonard shrugged, but a shy smile played on his face. "I don't want to lose what we had either. And... maybe we did, for a while. But it doesn't mean we can't keep trying. As much as..." Sighing, Leonard shook his head. "Do you want to keep trying?"

"Of course I do." Penny's voice was barely above a whisper as she answered him, tears gently rolling down her cheeks as she leaned in to kiss him. But she refused to stay in this place; all of a sudden, she needed to know him again the way she had before. Now that this barrier between them had been lifted, she cherished that freedom. She did not want to wait any longer to talk to him properly, to be he girlfriend right now. They could start now. Bringing her hands down his arms to hold his hands again, she smiled. "How are the auditions going?"

Leonard grinned. He hadn't realized how much he had missed this up until now. "Actually..."

"Oh my God - you got something?" Penny squeaked.

"Not quite! _Bu-ut _I came really close, and-"

"Oh no! I'm so so-"

"Ba-ba-ba!" Leonard gave her hands a light squeeze.

"What?"

"It was for this recurring role in a TV show, and I knew I wasn't gonna get it. But I still wore the outfit you said is your favorite audition outfit of mine. And I guess I looked really good, because even though I didn't get the part, I've got... well, it's just like two lines, but-"

"Shut. Up." Penny smacked Leonard's arm on each word. "You're gonna be on TV?"

"I'm gonna be on TV!"

"No _freakin' _way!" Penny squealed, leaping off the couch in wide-eyed surprise. "Are you kidding me? Oh my God! When? I wanna record it! Can I go to the filming?"

"Umm..." Leonard couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement. "I'm not kidding, I don't know _exactly _when but it's next month, feel free, and... I'm not sure, but I will ask."

"Yay!" Penny clapped her hands together excitedly, doing a small jump before dropping back onto the couch. "Oh, this is so exciting! I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you." Leonard smiled shyly. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"Hell yeah you are!" Penny couldn't stop grinning.

"What about you?"

"Well... I'm not gonna be on TV, that's for sure." Penny laughed. "Nothing too exciting... mostly just trying to get as much written work done as I can so I can enjoy the summer without worrying too much about everything. And wondering if that stupid Jason Asher will stop booking the lab in my favorite time slot."

"After lunch slot?"

"Exactly!"

* * *

"If my high school PE teacher had told me _this _is what I'm training for, I would have tried a lot harder." Leonard couldn't help the grin on his face, despite the fact that talking didn't make catching his breath any easier.

"Uh-huh." Penny couldn't wipe the smile off her face either. She felt pretty smug, but equally elated. Possibly more. She couldn't remember the last time she felt _this _amazing, or the last time sex had left her just as breathless as Leonard without his inhaler. "But this is so much better than being out of breath in PE."

"Totally." Leonard agreed, turning onto his side to mirror her. "You know, the only thing hotter than what we just did is watching you work in the lab when you think nobody is watching."

_Oh wow_. Penny felt her breath hitch, and momentarily her world was still in the most perfect way. She was in bed with a guy who found her working hotter than... anything. Because what they just did _was _hot. But nobody had ever thought of her intelligence as something more than just a positive side note to her physical qualities. And God, how she loved that. How she had _craved _that acceptance after years of what _she _thought was important had been pushed aside.

"Really?" Penny blinked at Leonard, biting her lip half-seductively, half-nervously.

Placing a gentle kiss over her lips, Leonard whispered "oh yeah" before Penny brought a hand to his jaw and deepened the kiss.

"I love you, Leonard."

The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she even realized she was thinking them. And once more, the world was still. Her heart thumped as her words echoed in her mind. Leonard just stared at her, unblinking and unresponsive.

He was no expert on being in love or receiving love or... love in general. He didn't know if his parents loved him. He didn't know if his handful of girlfriends had ever possibly loved him - even the one who had told him while she was drunk. He loved some of his family members, but not in the same way he felt about people he'd had relationships with. He loved his dog Mitzy, but that definitely wasn't the same. He'd expressed love through the characters he'd played sometimes, but he'd been told that love couldn't just be expressed through words. But how was he supposed to know how it felt? How were you supposed to respond to being loved if you didn't really know what being loved in any entity felt like in the first place?

"Thank you."

"Oh."

The couple stared awkwardly at each other for a while. Leonard could tell he'd said the wrong thing. Penny could tell he hadn't been ready for that.

Panicking, Leonard glanced back at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, it's pretty late. Umm, guess we'd better, uh, go to sleep."

"Yeah. It is pretty late."

"Okay. Yeah. Umm." Leonard leaned in awkwardly and hastily placed a kiss on her lips, because he that's what they always did and the only thing he could think of to do. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Unlike any previous night spent together, they each turned to face away from each other. Leonard blinked into the darkness once Penny had shut off the night light, his mind in overdrive.

In the darkness, lying there listening to the silence, the reality of the situation settled into Penny. She'd told Leonard she loved him. He hadn't said it back. She was going to Switzerland and he didn't love her back.


	23. 22 Cheese Toastie

**A/N - I know, I'm getting really bad at updating. But I promise those updates will still happen! No matter how long it takes. **

* * *

"I feel sorry for her."

"Why?"

"_Why_?" Amy raised a brow. "Penny put her heart out there and he just thanked her, as if she'd made him a cheese toastie."

"Well, cheese toasties _are _tasty."

"It's not about the cheese toasties, Sheldon, regardless of how great they are. It could be the best cheese toastie in the world but it's not the same as telling somebody you love them."

"I guess." Sheldon agreed, though if he was honest he had no idea if he'd ever really understand her point. He wasn't a man of affection in the way most were; he knew that - so how was he to really guess at the value of love in a relationship? And cheese toasties were perfectly fine, but he only really appreciated them when he was sick because they were easy to eat, warm and tasty. On the other hand, being offered a cheese toastie didn't mean you were obliged to make a cheese toastie for the person who had made you one in the first place. "But if Leonard doesn't feel the same way, he shouldn't say it. It's polite to thank Penny if he doesn't want to say it back. My sister once told a boy she loves him and he laughed at her. Then he drank my Dad's whiskey and left."

"Well, some people are bad people. Leonard isn't bad people, he's just..." Amy sighed. "Maybe he just doesn't love Penny. Or he does, but he doesn't know it. Either way, I feel sorry for her. It must be difficult."

"How would you know?" Sheldon asked curiously. He wasn't aware Amy had been in a relationship that deep before; in fact, she had told him she'd never been in one before she met him.

"I don't. It's called sympathy." Amy raised a brow. "I mean, she's going to Switzerland for a year... now she's lost because she was scared it would affect her relationship, and it has."

"But Leonard said they didn't break up. He told me they agreed that things could still work between them - Penny said if he didn't feel the same way, it was okay, as long as he still felt _something _for her. Which I think he does, even if he doesn't love her."

Impressed by Sheldon's almost casual observation of Leonard's feelings towards someone else, Amy almost grinned and asked him to elaborate before deciding otherwise. She knew Sheldon struggled with understanding others and their emotions, but he was still human - he felt things too and was a very observant man. Why wouldn't he pick up how his best friend felt?

"I imagine it must be difficult for the both of them." Amy frowned.

"Yes, I imagine so too." Sheldon nodded thoughtfully. "You know, Leonard offered me some good advice when I came to him about asking you on a date. And I know, it is difficult to believe someone like me would never need advice, but there you go. I wonder if I could give him any advice now. Yesterday I told him 'hang in there buddy' - do you think that's enough?"

_From you, probably yes_, Amy thought. Instead, she shrugged. "You know Leonard better than I do. But he probably needs someone to talk to, one-on-one, so it's less intense... so, maybe just hear him out. That's what I did with Penny, because I didn't really know how to help." Amy sighed. "Would you like me to make some spaghetti with cut up hot dogs? I don't think we'll all be eating together tonight."

* * *

"Leonard... I made you a cheese toastie." Sheldon said nervously, as Leonard emerged from his bedroom. "And I used that special lactose free cheese that you sometimes buy. I've already had my breakfast and I know you usually have cereal, but I wanted to make you a cheese toastie."

"Okay..." Leonard eyed Sheldon suspiciously. "Thank you?"

"You don't have to make me a cheese toastie in return."

"I know, you already had your breakfast, it's-"

"I just meant in general."

"Alright." Leonard sat down at the kitchen island, where Sheldon nudged the plate towards him. "Thanks." He took a bite and nodded approvingly. "Mm, this is good."

"Thank you. My MeeMaw taught me how to make them."

* * *

"At least he knows how you feel." Bernadette said hopefully; there was little she could think of to say that would sound positive that she hadn't already tried.

"Uh-huh. He just doesn't feel the same way." Penny groaned, slamming the soft drinks tap too forcefully into its holder. She had been drinking diet coke's throughout her shift, knowing that whilst still on bar training she'd be getting checked on every so often. What she wouldn't do for a bottle of wine right now...

"How do you know he doesn't feel the same way?" Amy asked, for what was probably the fifth time since Penny had told them what happened.

"Well, he would say it, wouldn't he?" Penny rolled her eyes as she saw another order appear and began preparing the drinks for the apparently very thirsty Table 12.

"Not necessarily." Amy pointed out. "Maybe he just doesn't feel confident enough to say it back."

"Yeah, if he's never felt like that before, maybe he just doesn't know what to do." Bernadette suggested, before pausing to take a sip of her wine. "And, no offence to you, Penny, but maybe he's even more cautious because of the Switzerland thing?"

"Oh, so it's _my_ fault?"

"I'm not saying it's your fault. I'm just saying it could be a factor."

Carefully pouring two glasses of wine (she'd already broken one glass by accident), Penny considered her friends words. She supposed her not telling him about Switzerland could make him a bit more wary of their relationship. She didn't blame him; if she thought about it from his perspective she completely understood. But why did everything have to come back to Switzerland? "What if it's not about any of that? What if he's just... what if he just doesn't love me?"

"Then... maybe he's not there yet."

"What if he never will be?"

"You won't find out unless you're willing to try keep the relationship going."

"Believe me, I want to." Penny sighed as she placed the final drink on the tray for Table 12. "It's just... terrifying. I've never felt so... so vulnerable in my life. People haven't always understood me, or loved me as _me_. And I finally found someone who not only appreciates me for who _I _really am, but _understands _me... who will laugh at my slutty, drunken texts one evening and spend the next proof-reading an essay about how an experiment that disproved something years ago may now prove the same theory, and for _that _one person not to love me back, it's... I want him to feel like that about me too, and for a long while I thought he did. I really thought he did."

* * *

"You know, it's okay if you don't know how you feel." Sheldon said suddenly, after pausing the movie he was watching with Leonard without warning.

Leonard rolled his eyes, prepared for yet another critique of the plot and characters of the movie. "You don't have to pause the movie every time you want to whine about it."

"I'm not talking about the movie, Leonard." Sheldon shook his head as though Leonard should know his reasoning without him having to say it out loud. "I'm talking about... people. In general. Like you and I." He cringed inwardly at the thought that he belonged to the 'general' group of people.

"Uh, okay?"

"Okay, those two are clearly having some irrational conflict but it's a movie, _obviously _there is going to be a solution." Sheldon said - mostly for himself, because he hated things without a solution.

"Can you get to the point?"

"The point is that every problem has a solution. But before the solution, there is a period of uncertainty - and honestly, I think that's perfectly fine. I know they speed through it in movies, but in reality it can take longer than that."

"Uh-huh..." Leonard really had no idea what Sheldon was trying to get at. It was odd behavior from him to talk about these things in a real life context. Video game context, sure. Movie logic, also a yes. But real life?

Sighing, Sheldon turned slightly to the side to look at Leonard properly. "For a while, I did not know if I wanted to go on a date with Amy because my whole life the whole idea of dating and coitus and the waste of time that is engaging in a relationship seemed preposterous. She wants us to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I'm not sure about taking that step."

"Well that's okay, I mean, you don't have to take that step until you're ready." Leonard assured him. "It's new for you."

"Exactly. _Exactly_! So... if you don't know how you feel about Penny yet, then that's okay too. Your parents were never there to give you an example of love that works. You say you loved women in the past, but you always doubted the authenticity of those feelings because they were new. And now, you have a completely different relationship and it makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew."

_Now _Leonard could see what Sheldon was getting at. If he was being honest, he was surprised that Sheldon had even opened up like that to him about Amy. Perhaps he wasn't such a robot after all. "Yeah... I guess so. Maybe. But I feel bad about it. I feel bad that I don't know what to say. But I know I'd feel bad if I told her _that_ without really knowing if I feel that way too."

"Is it because she lied to you about Switzerland?"

"No!" Leonard shook his head quickly. "No, it's not about that. I mean, I guess in the back of my mind I sometimes think, if she could leave that out for so long, maybe she's just good at things like that? But I trust her, I really do, and I don't think she did that on purpose. And I don't think she'd tell me that she loves me if she didn't really feel that way. It's me. I just... I feel like maybe I'm not there yet."

"I understand." Sheldon nodded.

"But it's okay not to be _there _yet, isn't it?"

"Well... I would think so. Even if you think you know how you feel about her, you don't have to say it right away. There's no need to rush things. These are new experiences for us."

"So why do I feel bad about it, if it's okay to not know?"

"Huh." Sheldon frowned. "That's one question I don't have an answer to." Standing up, he walked to the kitchen. "Would you like a cheese toastie and some hot cocoa?"


End file.
